temporal

¹

[tem-per-uhl, tem-pruhl]

adjective

1. of or relating to time.

2. pertaining to or concerned with the present life or this world; worldly.

   temporal joys.

3. enduring for a time only; temporary; transitory (eternal ).

4. Grammar.

   1. of, relating to, or expressing time.

      a temporal adjective, such as recent, or a temporal adverb, such as recently.

   2. of or relating to the tenses of a verb.

5. secular, lay, or civil, as opposed to ecclesiastical.

noun

1. a temporal possession, estate, or the like; temporality.

2. something that is temporal; a temporal matter or affair.

temporal

²

[tem-per-uhl, tem-pruhl]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or situated near the temple or a temporal bone.

noun

1. any of several parts in the temporal region, especially the temporal bone.

temporal

¹

/ ˈtɛmpərəl, ˈtɛmprəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to time

2. of or relating to secular as opposed to spiritual or religious affairs

   the lords spiritual and temporal

3. lasting for a relatively short time

4. grammar of or relating to tense or the linguistic expression of time in general

   a temporal adverb

temporal

²

/ ˈtɛmpərəl, ˈtɛmprəl /

adjective

1. anatomy of, relating to, or near the temple or temples

temporal

1. Relating to or near the bones that form the sides and part of the base of the skull.

Other Word Forms

• temporalness noun
• temporally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of temporal¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (adjective and noun) from Latin temporālis, equivalent to tempor- (stem of tempus ) “time” + -ālis adjective suffix; -al ¹

Origin of temporal²

First recorded in 1535–45; from Late Latin temporālis, equivalent to tempor- (stem of tempus ) temple ² + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of temporal¹

C14: from Latin temporālis, from tempus time

Origin of temporal²

C16: from Late Latin temporālis belonging to the temples; see _temple ²

Example Sentences

Obama’s subtle and possibly unconscious change from the cosmological to the temporal is significant in showing that liberals, too, think that history is somehow predetermined in their favor.

From Salon

They have to die and die again, searching for a way out of this temporal maze.

From Los Angeles Times

These implants are done in two parts of the brain that often produce seizures, the medial temporal lobe and the medial frontal lobe.

From Salon

The piece, a frangipani branch from his grandmother’s former garden in the neighborhood, will be planted in the museum’s garden, crossing temporal and spatial boundaries between the institution and the artist.

From Los Angeles Times

The initially jarring juxtaposition of then and now — fiction and documentary — quickly becomes intoxicating, inviting the viewer to both contemplate the ceaseless passage of time and ponder the seamless temporal transitions.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• earthly 
• materialistic 
• physical 
• sensual