Secular

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.
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              The secular year was kept but once a century.
                                                    --Addison.
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     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.
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     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.
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              New foes arise,
              Threatening to bind our souls with secular chains.
                                                    --Milton.
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     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.
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              He tried to enforce a stricter discipline and
              greater regard for morals, both in the religious
              orders and the secular clergy.        --Prescott.
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     5. Belonging to the laity; lay; not clerical.
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              I speak of folk in secular estate.    --Chaucer.
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     {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 {Secular poem}, a hymn or poem composed for
        the secular games, or sung or rehearsed at those games.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Secular \Sec"u*lar\, n.
     1. (Eccl.) A secular ecclesiastic, or one not bound by
        monastic rules. --Burke.
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     2. (Eccl.) A church official whose functions are confined to
        the vocal department of the choir. --Busby.
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     3. A layman, as distinguished from a clergyman.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  secular
       adj : concerning those not members of the clergy; "set his collar
             in laic rather than clerical position"; "the lay
             ministry"; "the choir sings both sacred and secular
             music" [syn: {laic}, {lay}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  117 Moby Thesaurus words for "secular":
     Philistine, annual, biannual, biennial, bimonthly, biweekly,
     bodily, brother, carnal, carnal-minded, catamenial, catechumen,
     centenary, centennial, centesimal, centigrado, centuple,
     centuplicate, centurial, church member, churchman, churchwoman,
     civil, communicant, congregational, corporal, corporeal, daily,
     decennial, diurnal, down-to-earth, earthly, earthy, fleshly,
     fortnightly, hardheaded, hebdomadal, hourly, hundredfold,
     hundredth, hylic, laic, laical, lay, lay brother, lay sister,
     layman, laywoman, material, materialistic, materiate,
     matter-of-fact, menstrual, momentary, momently, monthly, mundane,
     nonclerical, nonecclesiastical, nonministerial, nonordained,
     nonpastoral, nonreligious, nonsacred, nonspiritual, parishioner,
     physical, popular, positivistic, practical, practical-minded,
     pragmatic, profane, quarterly, quotidian, rational, realist,
     realistic, reasonable, reprobate, sane, scientific, scientistic,
     secularist, secularistic, semestral, semiannual, semimonthly,
     semiweekly, semiyearly, sensible, sister, sober-minded, somatic,
     sound, sound-thinking, state, straight-thinking, substantial,
     temporal, terrestrial, tertian, triennial, unblessed, unhallowed,
     unholy, unideal, unidealistic, unregenerate, unromantic, unsacred,
     unsanctified, unsentimental, unspiritual, weekly, worldly,
     yearly