worldly

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Concerned with ordinary life and material things rather than with religion or the spirit.

   He gave away all his worldly goods and entered the monastery.

2. 2
   adj

   Experienced and sophisticated about how life and people really work.

   She was far more worldly than the other students in her year.

3. 3
   adv

   In a way that concerns ordinary life rather than the spirit.

   He spoke worldly of money and ambition, never of faith.

Common collocations

• worldly belongings Adjective + noun
• worldly concern Adjective + noun

From Middle English worldly, worldlich, wordly (adjective), from Old English woruldlīċ, worldlīċ, weoroldlīċ (“worldly; earthly; temporal; mundane; secular”), from Proto-Germanic *weraldilīkaz, equivalent to world + -ly. Cognate with Dutch wereldlijk (“worldly; secular”), German Low German weltlik (“worldly”), German weltlich (“worldly”), Danish verdslig (“worldly”), Swedish världslig (“worldly”), Icelandic veraldlegur (“worldly; secular”).

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images