temporal
adjective/ˈtempərəl/
/ˈtempərəl/
- (formal) connected with the real physical world, not spiritual matters
- Although spiritual leader of millions of people, the Pope has no temporal power.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- (formal) connected with or limited by time
- a universe which has spatial and temporal dimensions
- (anatomy) near the temple(s) at the side of the head
- the right temporal lobe of the brain
Word Originsenses 1 to 2 Middle English: from Old French temporel or Latin temporalis, from tempus, tempor- ‘time’.sense 3 late Middle English: from late Latin temporalis, from tempora ‘the temples’, plural of tempus ‘temple of the head’.
Check pronunciation:
temporal