See Also: secrecy(medicine)
secrecy(dictionary)
secrecy(dictionary)
Bank secrecy(finance)

jumbo (iou) and secrecy (oh)


jumbo (iou)



jumbo noun & adjective. E19.
[Prob. the 2nd elem. of MUMBO-JUMBO. Popularized as the name of an elephant, famous for its size, orig. at London Zoo and in 1882 sold to a circus.]
A. noun. Pl. -os.
A big (occas. big and clumsy) person, animal, or thing, esp. an elephant; a thing which is very large of its kind. Also, a very skilful or successful person or thing. E19.
J. May There were bracket fungi..stiff jumbos..capable of bearing a man's weight. A. Blond He published The Thorn Birds, a classic jumbo.
Engineering. Any of various large types of equipment used in drilling, lifting, dumping, etc. E20.
Nautical. The fore staysail in a fore-and-aft rigged vessel; the largest foresail, corresponding to the Genoa jib of the modern yatch rig. E20.
= jumbo jet below. M20.
b. attrib. or as adjective. Very large of its kind; unusually large. L19.
Miami Herald Jumbo bluefish, some up to 15 pounds.
Special collocations & comb.: jumbo jet a large jet aeroplane with a seating capacity of several hundred passengers. jumbo-size, jumbo-sized adjectives of a very large size.
jumboism noun preference for largeness E20.
jumbo'mania noun idolization of largeness L19.

secrecy (oh)



[Date: 1500-1600; Origin: secretie 'secrecy' (15-16 centuries), from secre 'secret' (14-16 centuries), from Old French secre, from Latin secretus; SECRET1]
the process of keeping something secret, or when something is kept a secret
-see also secret secret
::I must stress the need for absolute secrecy about the project.
::His work was shrouded in secrecy .
::the veil of secrecy that covered the talks
swear sb to secrecy
to make someone promise not to repeat what you have told them