SECULAR

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French seculer, from Late Latin saecularis, from saeculum the present world, from Latin, generation, age, century, world; akin to Welsh hoedl lifetime Date: 14th century 1. of or relating to the worldly or temporal , not overtly or specifically religious , not ecclesiastical or clerical , not bound by monastic vows or rules, 3. occurring once in an age or a century, existing or continuing through ages or centuries, of or relating to a long term of indefinite duration , ~ity noun ~ly adverb II. noun (plural ~s or ~) Date: 14th century a ~ ecclesiastic (as a diocesan priest), layman