See Also:

second(1) (iou)



second adjective, noun2, & adverb ( ordinal numeral). ME.
[Old & mod. French second, (fem.) -onde from Latin secundus following, favourable, second, from base of sequi follow.]
A. adjective.
Coming next after the first in time, order, series, succession, position, occurrence, existence, rank, importance, excellence, etc.; that is number two in a series; (represented by 2nd). ME.
second conjugation, second declension, etc.
T. Hardy She was the second Mrs Melbury, the first having died. P. Moyes Henry Heathfield had taken second prize for tomatoes at the County Horticultural Show. J. Simms We had thought..of having a second child.
b. Next in rank, quality, importance, or degree of any attribute, to (a person or thing regarded as first); (in neg. and limiting contexts) inferior (to). LME.
C. S. Lewis It ranks second to none except the Bible. P. Warner As an administrator he was second only to his father.
c. Qualifying a superl.: only exceeded by one in the specified attribute. LME.
M. C. Gerald The second most widely used class of drugs.
d. In official titles: being the lower of two or the next to the highest of several people having the same title. E18.
C. Dexter School masters, even experienced second masters, aren't all that highly recompensed.
Having the degree of quality, fineness, etc., next to the best; of the second grade or class. Now chiefly Commerce in certain customary collocations. ME.
Other, another; additional to that which has already existed, taken place, been mentioned, etc.; (qualifying a proper name) equalling or closely resembling the bearer of the name. ME.
W. Forrest A famous kynge..Called (in his tyme) the Seconde Salomon. Guardian An inexpensive 'second car' for my wife. G. Gordon The playroom served as a second visitors' room when..more people were staying.
Special collocations, phrases, & comb.: (As ordinal.) Forming compound numerals with multiples of ten, as forty-second (42nd), six-thousand-and-second (6002nd), etc. (As adjective) a second opinion: see OPINION noun. in the second place as a second consideration, secondly. second Adam Theology Jesus Christ (with ref. to 1 Corinthians 15:45, 47). second advent Christian Theology = second coming below. Second Adventist: see ADVENTIST. second ballot a deciding ballot taken between the candidate who won a previous ballot without securing an absolute majority and the candidate with the next highest number of votes. second banana: see BANANA 3. second blessing Theology an experience of God's grace subsequent to conversion, believed by some Christian groups to be the means of receiving the power to live a sanctified life. second bottom (a) the last but one position in a ranking etc.; (b) US the first terrace above the normal flood plain of a stream; (c) Austral. a second stratum of gold-bearing material found by sinking below the bottom of the first. second breakfast a light meal taken late in the morning or early in the afternoon. second cause: see CAUSE noun. second chamber the upper chamber of a bicameral legislature, usu. chiefly having the function of revising measures prepared and passed by the lower. second channel Radio = IMAGE noun 9. second childhood: see CHILDHOOD 1. second chop: see CHOP noun3. second coming Christian Theology the second advent of Christ on earth. second cousin: see COUSIN noun. second cut Austral. & NZ (the mark of) a blow made to remove badly cut fleece; a piece of short or inferior wool produced by this. second day in the usage of the Society of Friends, Monday. second degree spec. (a) the second most serious category of burn; (b) the second most serious category of crime (principal in the second degree, an accessory to a crime). second-degree adjective (a) (of a burn) sufficiently severe to cause blistering but not permanent scarring; (b) US (of murder) next in culpability to first-degree murder, premeditated but with mitigating circumstances. Second Empire: see EMPIRE noun. second fiddle: see FIDDLE noun. second filial generation: see FILIAL adjective 2. second finger the finger next to the forefinger, the middle finger. second floor the floor or storey of a building two or (N. Amer.) one above the ground floor. second front spec. in the war of 1939-45, a front in Nazi-occupied Europe in addition to the Russian sector of fighting. second gear the gear next above the lowest or bottom gear of a motor vehicle, bicycle, etc. second-generation adjective (of a computer) distinguished by the use of transistors and belonging essentially to the period 1955-60. second-guess verb (colloq.) (a) verb trans. anticipate, predict, or foresee by guesswork; (b) verb trans.& intrans. criticize, judge, question, or reconsider by hindsight. second-guesser colloq. a person who second-guesses; orig., a spectator of baseball who criticizes the playing of a team or the decisions of the umpire, usu. with the benefit of hindsight. second honeymoon: see HONEYMOON noun. second in command (an officer) holding a position next in rank to the chief commander of an army etc.; (a person) next in authority to the person in charge. second INTENTION. Second International: see INTERNATIONAL noun 3. Second Isaiah = DEUTERO-ISAIAH. second language a language spoken or used in addition to one's native language, a language learned later than one's native language; a foreign language. second last: see LAST adverb, adjective, & noun5. second law of THERMODYNAMICS. second lesson: see LESSON noun 2. second LIEUTENANT. second line Military a line behind the front line to support it and make good its losses. second-line adjective constituting or belonging to a second line, ranking second in ability, value, etc. second-liner a member of a second line, a second-line person. secondman an assistant driver on a diesel or electric train. second master a deputy headmaster. second messenger Physiology a substance whose release within a cell is promoted by a hormone and which brings about a response by the cell. second mortgage a supplementary or puisne mortgage on the same property as another. second mourning Hist. = half-mourning (b) s.v. HALF-. second name spec. a surname. second nature acquired behaviour that has become natural or virtually instinctive (to). second officer an assistant mate on a merchant ship. second pedal: see PEDAL noun1 4. second person: see PERSON noun. second position (a) Music the second lowest position of the left hand on the finger-board of a stringed instrument; (b) Ballet a disposition of the body in which the turned-out feet are in a straight line separated by the distance of a small step. second reading the second of three successive occasions on which a bill is presented to a legislature before it becomes law, in Britain to approve its general principles, in the US to debate committee reports. Second Sea Lord: see SEA. second secretary: see SECRETARY noun. second self a friend who agrees absolutely with one's tastes and opinions; a person for whose welfare one cares as much as for one's own. second service Hist. the Eucharist in the Church of England, as following matins. second sight the supposed power by which occurrences in the future or things at a distance are perceived as though they were actually present or taking place. second-sighted adjective having second sight. second slip: see SLIP noun3 11. second sound Physics a form of longitudinal wave which has many properties in common with sound and is observed in superfluid helium. second speed (the speed attainable in) second gear. second storey = second floor above. second strike a retaliatory attack conducted with weapons designed to withstand an initial nuclear attack or first strike. second string: see STRING noun. second table: see TABLE noun. second thigh the gaskin of a horse's leg. second thoughts thoughts reversing or altering a previous opinion, conclusion, or determination. second tooth each of the teeth that replace the milk teeth in a mammal. Second War = Second World War s.v. WORLD. second water: see WATER noun. second wind a person's ability to breathe freely during exertion after initial breathlessness; renewed energy to continue an effort. Second World (a) the developed countries apart from the US and the former USSR; (b) the (former) Communist bloc comprising the USSR and some East European countries. Second World War: see WORLD. the second sex: see SEX noun.
b. noun.
I.
The second person or thing of a category, series, etc., identified contextually, as day of the month, (following a proper name) person, esp. monarch or pope, of the specified name, base in baseball, etc. ME.
Glasgow Herald Brown squared with a 'birdie' 3 at the second. Arizona Daily Star Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler..played the first quarter and part of the second.
Heraldry. The tincture mentioned second in a blazon. L16.
II.
gen. A person who or thing which is second; another person or thing in addition to the one already mentioned etc. M16.
J. Erskine By seconds in blood, are meant first cousins. R. Lowell A first tiger cat..spies on a second. Day Lewis The second of my long line of heroes.
Music.
a. An interval spanning two consecutive notes in the diatonic scale; a note separated from another by this interval; a chord including two notes a second apart. L16.
b. The next to the highest part in a duet, trio, etc. L18.
In pl. Goods of a quality second and inferior to the best; (bread made from) coarse flour. L16.
A subdivision of a measure or dimension which is itself a subdivision in the same ratio of a greater measure or dimension, as a twelfth of an inch (which is a twelfth of a foot). Cf. SECOND noun1, THIRD noun 3. obsolete exc. Hist. E17.
A person who is second in command. E17.
In pl.
a. A second helping of food at a meal. colloq. L18.
A. Carter Mignon..helping herself to seconds of bread and milk.
b. The second or sweet course of a meal. colloq. M20.
(A person having) a place in the second class of an examination; (a competitor gaining) second place in a race etc. M19.
lower second, upper second.
The second gear on a motor vehicle or bicycle. E20.
Mountaineering. The second climber of a team, who follows the leader. E20.
III.
A person who or thing which helps or supports another. Now only spec., a person acting as representative of a principal in a duel, carrying the challenge, arranging locality, and loading weapons, or acting as an attendant to a fighter in a boxing- or wrestling-match etc. L16.
C. adverb.
Secondly, in the second place; as the second in succession. LME.
ellipt. Travelling second class. E20.
secondness noun L19.