Secular definition | Dictionary.com

sec⋅u⋅lar

[sek-yuh-ler]

–adjective

1.	of or pertaining to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal: secular interests.

2.	not pertaining to or connected with religion (opposed to sacred ): secular music.

3.	(of education, a school, etc.) concerned with nonreligious subjects.

4.	(of members of the clergy) not belonging to a religious order; not bound by monastic vows (opposed to regular ).

5.	occurring or celebrated once in an age or century: the secular games of Rome.

6.	going on from age to age; continuing through long ages.

–noun

7.	a layperson.

8.	one of the secular clergy.

Origin:
1250–1300; < ML sēculāris, LL saeculāris worldly, temporal (opposed to eternal), L: of an age, equiv. to L saecul(um) long period of time + -āris -ar ¹ ; r. ME seculer < OF < L, as above

Related forms:

sec⋅u⋅lar⋅ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To Secular

sec·u·lar (sěk'yə-lər)

adj.

Worldly rather than spiritual.
Not specifically relating to religion or to a religious body: secular music.
Relating to or advocating secularism.
Not bound by monastic restrictions, especially not belonging to a religious order. Used of the clergy.
Occurring or observed once in an age or century.
Lasting from century to century.

A member of the secular clergy.
A layperson.

[Middle English, from Old French seculer, from Late Latin saeculāris, from Latin, of an age, from saeculum, generation, age.]
sec'u·lar·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Secular

Spanish: secular, seglar,

German: weltlich,

Japanese: 世俗の

More Translations »

secular [(sek-yuh-luhr)]

Not concerned with religion or religious matters. Secular is the opposite of sacred.

Note: Secularization refers to the declining influence of religion and religious values within a given culture. Secular humanism means, loosely, a belief in human self-sufficiency.

secular

c.1290, "living in the world, not belonging to a religious order," also "belonging to the state," from O.Fr. seculer, from L.L. sæcularis "worldly, secular," from L. sæcularis "of an age, occurring once in an age," from sæculum "age, span of time, generation," probably originally cognate with words for "seed," from PIE base *se(i)- "to sow" (cf. Goth. mana-seþs "mankind, world," lit. "seed of men"). Used in ecclesiastical writing like Gk. aion "of this world" (see cosmos). It is source of Fr. siècle. Ancient Roman ludi sæculares was a three-day, day-and-night celebration coming once in an "age" (120 years). Secularism "doctrine that morality should be based on the well-being of man in the present life, without regard to religious belief or a hereafter" first recorded 1846.

Secular

An adjective used to describe a long-term time frame, usually at least 10 years.

Investopedia Commentary

For example, in his book "Stocks For the Long Run", Jeremy Siegel (finance professor at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania) argues that equity securities (particular American equities) will likely outperform the other major asset classes on a secular basis, or over the long term. He backs this argument up with the fact that between 1871-2001 during any rolling 30-year period (a period long enough to be considered secular) stocks outperformed all other asset classes, in particular bonds and T-bills.

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