SECULAR

secular

(adjective) of or relating to clergy not bound by monastic vows; “the secular clergy”

profane, secular

(adjective) not concerned with or devoted to religion; “sacred and profane music”; “secular drama”; “secular architecture”; “children being brought up in an entirely profane environment”

laic, lay, secular

(adjective) characteristic of those who are not members of the clergy; “set his collar in laic rather than clerical position”; “the lay ministry”

worldly, secular, temporal

(adjective) characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world as opposed to the spiritual world; “worldly goods and advancement”; “temporal possessions of the church”

secular

(adjective) of or relating to the doctrine that rejects religion and religious considerations

layman, layperson, secular

(noun) someone who is not a clergyman or a professional person

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Adjective

secular (comparative more secular, superlative most secular)

Not specifically religious; lay or civil, as opposed to clerical.

Temporal; worldly, or otherwise not based on something timeless.

(Christianity) Not bound by the vows of a monastic order.

Happening once in an age or century.

Continuing over a long period of time, long-term.

(literary) Centuries-old, ancient.

(astrophysics, geology) Relating to long-term non-periodic irregularities, especially in planetary motion or magnetic field.

(atomic physics) Unperturbed over time.

Synonyms

• (not religious): worldly

• (centuries old): plurisecular, multisecular

Antonyms

• nonsecular

• (not religious): religious

• (not religious): sacred (used especially of music)

• (not bound by monastic vows): monastic

• (not bound by monastic vows): regular (as regular clergy in Catholicism)

• eternal, everlasting

• frequent

• unpredictable

• non-recurring

• (finance): short-term

• (finance): cyclical

Noun

secular (plural seculars)

A secular ecclesiastic, or one not bound by monastic rules.

A church official whose functions are confined to the vocal department of the choir.

A layman, as distinguished from a clergyman.

Anagrams

• Clauser, cesural, recusal

Source: Wiktionary

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Sec"u*lar, a. Etym: [OE. secular, seculer. L. saecularis, fr. saeculum a race, generation, age, the times, the world; perhaps akin to E. soul: cf. F. séculier.]

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.)

Definition: 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.

Sec"u*lar, n.

1. (Eccl.)

Definition: A secular ecclesiastic, or one not bound by monastic rules. Burke.

2. (Eccl.)

Definition: A church official whose functions are confined to the vocal department of the choir. Busby.

3. A layman, as distinguished from a clergyman.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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