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8 dictionary results for: secular

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

sec·u·lar

[sek-yuh-ler] Pronunciation Key

–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 séculāris, LL saeculāris worldly, temporal (opposed to eternal), L: of an age, equiv. to L saecul(um) long period of time + -āris -ar¹; r. ME seculer < OF < L, as above

]

—Related forms

sec·u·lar·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

sec·u·lar (sěk'yə-lər) Pronunciation Key
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.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

secular
adjective
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] [ant: beguile]
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] [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]
noun
1.	someone who is not a clergyman or a professional person [syn: layman] [ant: clergyman]

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American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Investopedia - Cite This Source - Share This

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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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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