secret society

English

Noun

secret society (plural secret societies)

1. A club, fraternal organization, or other association which admits only selected individuals as members, whose meetings and practices are often ritualistic and not public, and which often has the purpose of furthering the social or economic opportunities of its members.
   • 1879, Louisa May Alcott, chapter 22, in Under the Lilacs:

     Ben had much fun out of it, assuring the other boys that those were the signs and password of a secret society to which he and Sam belonged.

   • 1903, Joseph Conrad, chapter 6, in Romance:

     But these Brothers of Pity were a secret society, known to no man except their spiritual head, who chose them in turn, and not knowing even each other.

   • 1937 May 3, “Germany: Hitler v. Everybody”, in Time:

     Originally a secret society, B'nai B'rith came into the open in 1920 with publication of its ritual.

   • 2007 January 14, “Spycraft as Thespianage”, in Newsweek, retrieved 14 June 2011:

     In the opening scenes of "The Good Shepherd," the hero (played by Matt Damon) is initiated into Skull and Bones, Yale's iconic secret society, by lowering himself naked into a coffin to confess his deepest secrets.

Translations

organization

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 秘密ひみつ結社けっしゃ／秘密ひみつ结社 (zh) (mìmì jiéshè), 私わたし會かい黨とう／私わたし会かい党とう (sī huìdǎng) (Singapore, Malaysia)

• Dutch: geheim genootschap n
• Estonian: salaühing (et)
• Finnish: salaseura (fi)
• French: société secrète (fr) f
• Georgian: საიდუმლო საზოგადოება (saidumlo sazogadoeba), საიდუმლო გაერთიანება (saidumlo gaertianeba)
• German: Geheimbund (de) m
• Icelandic: leynifélag (is) n
• Italian: società segreta f
• Japanese: 秘密ひみつ結社けっしゃ (ja) (ひみつけっしゃ, himitsu kessha)
• Korean: 비밀결사(秘密ひみつ結社けっしゃ) (ko) (bimilgyeolsa)
• Latin: hetaeria f
• Polish: tajne stowarzyszenie n
• Portuguese: sociedade secreta f
• Romanian: societate secretă (ro) f
• Russian: та́йное о́бщество n (tájnoje óbščestvo)
• Spanish: sociedad secreta (es) f
• Thai: อั้งยี่ (th) (âng-yîi)

Further reading

• secret society on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “secret society”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.