Adjacent Words

Secular definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SEC'ULAR, a. [L. secularis, from seculum, the world or an age.]
1. Pertaining to the present world, or to things not spiritual or holy; relating to things not immediately or primarily respecting the soul, but the body; worldly. The secular concerns of life respect making making provision for the support of life, the preservation of health, the temporal prosperity of men, of states, etc. Secular power is that which superintends and governs the temporal affairs of men, the civil or political power; and is contradistinguished from spiritual or ecclsiastical power.
2. Among catholics, not regular; not bound by monastic vows or rules; not confines to a monastery or subject to the rules of a religious community. Thus we say, the secular clergy and the regular clergy.
3. Coming once in a century; as a secular year.
Secular games, in Rome, were games celebrated once in an age or century, which lasted three days and three nights, with sacrifices, theatrical shows, combats, sports, etc.
Valerius Maximus.
Secular music, any music or songs not adapted to sacred uses.
Secular song or poem, a song or poem composed for the secular games, or sung or rehearsed at those games.
SEC'ULAR, n. A church officer or officiate whose functions are confines to the vocal department of the choir.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: of or relating to the doctrine that rejects religion and religious considerations
2: characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world as opposed to the spiritual world; "worldly goods and advancement"; "temporal possessions of the church" [syn: worldly, secular, temporal] [ant: unworldly]
3: not concerned with or devoted to religion; "sacred and profane music"; "secular drama"; "secular architecture", "children being brought up in an entirely profane environment" [syn: profane, secular] [ant: sacred]
4: of or relating to clergy not bound by monastic vows; "the secular clergy" [ant: religious]
5: characteristic of those who are not members of the clergy; "set his collar in laic rather than clerical position"; "the lay ministry" [syn: laic, lay, secular] n
1: someone who is not a clergyman or a professional person [syn: layman, layperson, secular] [ant: clergyman, man of the cloth, reverend]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French seculer, from Late Latin saecularis, from saeculum the present world, from Latin, generation, age, century, world; akin to Welsh hoedl lifetime Date: 14th century 1. a. of or relating to the worldly or temporal <secular concerns> b. not overtly or specifically religious <secular music> c. not ecclesiastical or clerical <secular courts> <secular landowners> 2. not bound by monastic vows or rules; specifically of, relating to, or forming clergy not belonging to a religious order or congregation <a secular priest> 3. a. occurring once in an age or a century b. existing or continuing through ages or centuries c. of or relating to a long term of indefinite duration <secular inflation> • secularity noun • secularly adverb II. noun (plural seculars or secular) Date: 14th century 1. a secular ecclesiastic (as a diocesan priest) 2. layman

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 concerned with the affairs of this world; not spiritual or sacred. 2 (of education etc.) not concerned with religion or religious belief. 3 a not ecclesiastical or monastic. b (of clergy) not bound by a religious rule. 4 occurring once in an age or century. 5 lasting for or occurring over an indefinitely long time. --n. a secular priest. Phrases and idioms: secular variation Astron. variation compensated over a long period of time. Derivatives: secularism n. secularist n. secularity n. secularize v.tr. (also -ise). secularization n. secularly adv. Etymology: ME (in senses 1-3 f. OF seculer) f. L saecularis f. saeculum generation, age

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Secular Sec"u*lar, a. [OE. secular, seculer. L. saecularis, fr. saeculum a race, generation, age, the times, the world; perhaps akin to E. soul: cf. F. s['e]culier.] 1. Coming or observed once in an age or a century. The secular year was kept but once a century. --Addison. 2. Pertaining to an age, or the progress of ages, or to a long period of time; accomplished in a long progress of time; as, secular inequality; the secular refrigeration of the globe. 3. Of or pertaining to this present world, or to things not spiritual or holy; relating to temporal as distinguished from eternal interests; not immediately or primarily respecting the soul, but the body; worldly. New foes arise, Threatening to bind our souls with secular chains. --Milton. 4. (Eccl.) Not regular; not bound by monastic vows or rules; not confined to a monastery, or subject to the rules of a religious community; as, a secular priest. He tried to enforce a stricter discipline and greater regard for morals, both in the religious orders and the secular clergy. --Prescett. 5. Belonging to the laity; lay; not clerical. I speak of folk in secular estate. --Chaucer. Secular equation (Astron.), the algebraic or numerical expression of the magnitude of the inequalities in a planet's motion that remain after the inequalities of a short period have been allowed for. Secular games (Rom. Antiq.), games celebrated, at long but irregular intervals, for three days and nights, with sacrifices, theatrical shows, combats, sports, and the like. Secular music, any music or songs not adapted to sacred uses. Secular hymn or poem, a hymn or poem composed for the secular games, or sung or rehearsed at those games.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Secular Sec"u*lar, n. 1. (Eccl.) A secular ecclesiastic, or one not bound by monastic rules. --Burke. 2. (Eccl.) A church official whose functions are confined to the vocal department of the choir. --Busby. 3. A layman, as distinguished from a clergyman.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

You use secular to describe things that have no connection with religion. He spoke about preserving the country as a secular state. ? religious ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Temporal, worldly, profane, lay, laic, laical.

Moby Thesaurus

Philistine, annual, biannual, biennial, bimonthly, biweekly, bodily, brother, carnal, carnal-minded, catamenial, catechumen, centenary, centennial, centesimal, centigrado, centuple, centuplicate, centurial, church member, churchman, churchwoman, civil, communicant, congregational, corporal, corporeal, daily, decennial, diurnal, down-to-earth, earthly, earthy, fleshly, fortnightly, hardheaded, hebdomadal, hourly, hundredfold, hundredth, hylic, laic, laical, lay, lay brother, lay sister, layman, laywoman, material, materialistic, materiate, matter-of-fact, menstrual, momentary, momently, monthly, mundane, nonclerical, nonecclesiastical, nonministerial, nonordained, nonpastoral, nonreligious, nonsacred, nonspiritual, parishioner, physical, popular, positivistic, practical, practical-minded, pragmatic, profane, quarterly, quotidian, rational, realist, realistic, reasonable, reprobate, sane, scientific, scientistic, secularist, secularistic, semestral, semiannual, semimonthly, semiweekly, semiyearly, sensible, sister, sober-minded, somatic, sound, sound-thinking, state, straight-thinking, substantial, temporal, terrestrial, tertian, triennial, unblessed, unhallowed, unholy, unideal, unidealistic, unregenerate, unromantic, unsacred, unsanctified, unsentimental, unspiritual, weekly, worldly, yearly