Etymology

secretary general

Today it means: The chief administrator of an international body such as NATO or the United Nations. Full definition →

French secrétaire général
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The story

  1. French · calque ofsecrétaire général
  2. English todaySecretary General

Calque of French secrétaire général, hence the unusual order of adjective following noun (i.e., postpositive).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.