secure

— adj 1. free from danger, damage, etc 2. free from fear, care, etc 3. in safe custody 4. not likely to fail, become loose, etc 5. able to be relied on; certain: a secure investment 6. nautical stowed away or made inoperative 7. archaic careless or overconfident — vb (when intr, often foll by against ) (when intr, often foll by against ) 8. ( tr ) to obtain or get possession of: I will secure some good seats 9. to make or become free from danger, fear, etc 10. ( tr ) to make fast or firm; fasten 11. to make or become certain; guarantee: this plan will secure your happiness 12. ( tr ) to assure (a creditor) of payment, as by giving security 13. ( tr ) to make (a military position) safe from attack 14. nautical to make (a vessel or its contents) safe or ready by battening down hatches, stowing gear, etc 15. ( tr ) nautical to stow or make inoperative: to secure the radio [C16: from Latin sēcūrus free from care, from sē- without + cūra care] se'curable — adj se'curely — adv se'curement — n se'cureness — n se'curer — n
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secure
1530s, "without care," from L. securus "without care, safe," from *se cura , from se "free from" (see secret) + cura "care" (see cure). The verb is from 1590s. Meaning "firmly fixed" (of material things) is from 1841, on notion of "affording grounds for confidence." Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source Legal Dictionary
Main Entry: se·cure
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: se·cured ; se·cur·ing
1 : to put beyond hazard of losing or not receiving <>
2 a : to protect or make certain (as by lien) secure the parties' respective interests — Denton v. Lazenby , 879 Pacific Reporter, Second Series 607 (1994)> b : to give security for (as a loan) or otherwise assure the payment, performance, or execution of with security secure the judgment> c : to give or pledge security to (as a creditor); broadly : to cause to have security or a security interest secured by a lien on real property> Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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