Link Centre Dictionary

worldly

UK/ˈwɜː(ɹ)ldli/ US/ˈwɜrldli/ fairly common

adjective

1.

characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world

  • “worldly goods and advancement”
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2.

very sophisticated especially because of surfeit; versed in the ways of the world

  • “the blase traveler refers to the ocean he has crossed as”
  • “";”
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3.

concerned with secular rather than sacred matters

  • “lords temporal and spiritual”
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Origin

From Middle English worldly, worldlich, wordly (adjective), from Old English woruldlīċ, worldlīċ, weoroldlīċ (“worldly; earthly; temporal; mundane; secular”), from Proto-Germanic *weraldilīkaz, equivalent to world + -ly. Cognate with Dutch wereldlijk (“worldly; secular”), German Low German weltlik (“worldly”), German weltlich (“worldly”), Danish verdslig (“worldly”), Swedish världslig (“worldly”), Icelandic veraldlegur (“worldly; secular”).

Related words

Word family

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.