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A dominant chord (major triad or dominant seventh) that resolves to a chord other than the tonic. Notated V/x (e.g., V/V, V/ii).
Secondary dominants add chromatic color to diatonic progressions. V/V is the most common (adds a raised fourth scale degree). V/vi, V/IV, and V/ii are also frequent. Any diatonic chord except the diminished triad can be tonicized with a secondary dominant.
Beethoven, Symphony No. 1, opening: the first chord is a C dominant seventh resolving to F — V7 of IV in the home key of C major — so the symphony begins on a secondary dominant before the home key has been confirmed.
Secondary dominant is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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