state secretn.
/ˌsteɪt ˈsiːkrᵻt/, U.S. /ˌsteɪt ˈsikrᵻt/ 1. A sensitive issue or piece of information which is kept secret by a government.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > [noun] > something concealed, a secret > of the state
mysterya1618
state secret1656
official secret1891
1656 P. Heylyn Extraneus Vapulans ii. 53 He hath been told, & told it by some credible persons, but who those credible persons were is a great State-secret.
1734 J. Breval Hist. House of Nassau 267 Open Avowal from France of what was a State-Secret hitherto.
1774 G. Laughton Hist. Anc. Egypt 109 Revealers of state secrets, were deprived of their tongues.
1831 W. Scott Count Robert v, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. III. 108 It was considered as a state secret of the greatest importance.
1864 Irish Jurist 16 175/1 The evidence given in such examination of witnesses is a state secret.
1918 E. J. Dillon Eclipse of Russia xiv. 253 Lamsdorff was an admirable Foreign Secretary,..into whose ears all the momentous State secrets passed.
1972 J. Aiken Butterfly Picnic x. 190 [He] is doing forty years in a top-security prison for handing over state secrets.
2010 A. Soldatov & I. Borogan New Nobility xiv.177 Putin signed a new decree on information considered to be a state secret.
2. In extended use: an important secret; a piece of information which is closely guarded and desired to be kept private. Frequently humorous.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > [noun] > something concealed, a secret
derna1000
counsel1377
secrec1386
dernheada1400
secretnessc1425
secrecyc1450
secret1450
concealment1598
reservation1612
cabal1631
recess1646
occult1648
reserve1680
state secret1822
reserving1844
inédit1910
1822 J. Galt Provost xlvi. 344 I told it to Mrs. Pawkie, as a state secret.
1871 A. L. Wister tr. E. Marlitt Gold Elsie xv. 200 I don't want to know her state secret if she has no confidence in me.
1920 Printers' Ink 9 Sept. 194/2 A man, who is well acquainted with many of them [sc. advertising copy writers], gave away state secrets of the profession.
1997 Independent on Sunday 22 June (Review Suppl.) 72/3 Now that she knows the state secrets of the vinery, her personal challenge when she leaves will be to grow grapes as good as those at Chatsworth.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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