<p>「秘書」 was originally written as 「祕書」, and indeed described "secret books". More specifically, they were the documents hidden away in the imperial library which kept national records of paramount importance.</p>

<p>This was then extended to the imperial officers acting as the <em>bookkeepers</em> or <em>librarians</em> of these documents in the libraries.</p>

<p>Finally, the modern spelling 「秘書」 extended the <em>bookkeeper positions</em> to the meaning <em>secretary</em>, that is, those who assist someone else, like a leader of an organisation or department, to keep records.</p>

<hr>

<p><strong>References:</strong></p>

<ul>
<li>《漢語大詞典》</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-09T01:42:32.183Z
2020-05-09T01:42:32.183Z
dROOOze
<p>秘 = secret --> private </p>

<p>书 = 书记 = clerk; secretary</p>

<p>秘 has the meaning of 'secret' , and it extends to 'private'</p>

<p>书 in 秘书 doesn't mean book, it is short for 书記 (clerk; secretary), a job title. </p>

<p>In fact, another common translation of 'secretary' is "书记" as in  "党书记" ( Party secretary)</p>

<p>秘书 is literally a "private secretary"</p>

<p><em>书记 can be working for a department or for one person, to differentiate the two, we also have the term 私人书记 (personal clerk) = 秘书 (private  secretary)</em></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-09T00:56:12.287Z
2020-05-09T01:05:02.853Z
2020-05-09T01:05:02.853Z
Tang Ho
<p>For some reason <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%A7%98%E4%B9%A6/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">秘书</a> (mìshū) is the Chinese word for "secretary"; it breaks up into:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%A7%98" rel="nofollow noreferrer">秘</a> (mì) = secret (long version: <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E7%A7%98%E5%AF%86" rel="nofollow noreferrer">秘密</a> (mìmì) = secret);</li>
<li><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E4%B9%A6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">书</a> (shū) = book.</li>
</ul>

<p>I feel like there's a etymological story here.</p>

<p><strong>Question</strong>: Why is 秘书 (lit. "secret book") the Chinese word for "secretary"?</p>

<p>I didn't find the answer on <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%A7%98%E6%9B%B8#Chinese" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wiktionary</a> nor <a href="https://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/dictionary.php?word=%E7%A7%98%E4%B9%A6&amp;cache=74239" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Yellowbridge</a>.</p>

<etymology>
Why is 秘书 (lit. "secret book") the Chinese word for "secretary"?
# Why is 秘书 (lit. "secret book") the Chinese word for "secretary"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-05-09)

For some reason [秘书](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%A7%98%E4%B9%A6/) (mìshū) is the Chinese word for "secretary"; it breaks up into:

* [秘](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%A7%98) (mì) = secret (long version: [秘密](http://youdao.com/w/%E7%A7%98%E5%AF%86) (mìmì) = secret);
* [书](http://youdao.com/w/%E4%B9%A6) (shū) = book.

I feel like there's a etymological story here.

**Question**: Why is 秘书 (lit. "secret book") the Chinese word for "secretary"?

I didn't find the answer on [Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%A7%98%E6%9B%B8#Chinese) nor [Yellowbridge](https://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/dictionary.php?word=%E7%A7%98%E4%B9%A6&cache=74239).

**Tags:** etymology


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-05-09. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

「秘書」 was originally written as 「祕書」, and indeed described "secret books". More specifically, they were the documents hidden away in the imperial library which kept national records of paramount importance.

This was then extended to the imperial officers acting as the *bookkeepers* or *librarians* of these documents in the libraries.

Finally, the modern spelling 「秘書」 extended the *bookkeeper positions* to the meaning *secretary*, that is, those who assist someone else, like a leader of an organisation or department, to keep records.

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**References:**

* 《漢語大詞典》


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### Answer by username_2 on 2020-05-09. Score: 2

秘 = secret --> private

书 = 书记 = clerk; secretary

秘 has the meaning of 'secret' , and it extends to 'private'

书 in 秘书 doesn't mean book, it is short for 书記 (clerk; secretary), a job title.

In fact, another common translation of 'secretary' is "书记" as in "党书记" ( Party secretary)

秘书 is literally a "private secretary"

*书记 can be working for a department or for one person, to differentiate the two, we also have the term 私人书记 (personal clerk) = 秘书 (private secretary)*


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