SECULAR


Meaning of SECULAR in English

[ 'sɛkjʊlə ]

■ adjective

1》 not religious, sacred, or spiritual.

2》 Christian Church not subject to or bound by religious rule. Contrasted with regular .

3》 Astronomy of or denoting slow changes in the motion of the sun or planets.

4》 Economics (of a fluctuation or trend) occurring or persisting over an indefinitely long period.

5》 occurring once every century or similarly long period (used especially in reference to celebratory games in ancient Rome).

■ noun a ~ priest.

Derivatives

~ism noun

~ist noun

~ity noun

~ization or ~isation noun

~ize or ~ise verb

~ly adverb

Origin

ME: senses 1 and 2 from OFr. seculer , from L. saecularis , from saeculum 'generation', used in Christian L. to mean 'the world'; senses 3, 4, and 5 (C19) from L. saecularis 'relating to an age or period'.

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.