world

world
world O.E. woruld, worold "human existence, the affairs of life," also "the human race, mankind," a word peculiar to Germanic languages (Cf. O.S. werold, O.Fris. warld, Du. wereld, O.N. verold, O.H.G. weralt, Ger. Welt), with a literal sense of "age of man," from P.Gmc. *wer "man" (O.E. wer, still in werewolf; see VIRILE (Cf. virile)) + *ald "age" (see OLD (Cf. old)).
Originally "life on earth, this world (as opposed to the afterlife)," sense extended to "the known world," then to "the physical world in the broadest sense, the universe" (c.1200). In O.E. gospels, the commonest word for "the physical world," was Middangeard (O.N. Midgard), lit. "the middle enclosure" (Cf. yard), which is rooted in Germanic cosmology. Greek kosmos in its ecclesiastical sense of "world of people" sometimes was rendered in Gothic as manaseþs, lit. "seed of man."
The usual O.N. word was heimr, lit. "abode" (see home). Words for "world" in some other I.E. languages derive from the root for "bottom, foundation" (Cf. Ir. domun, O.C.S. duno, related to English deep); the Lithuanian word is pasaulis, from pa- "under" + saule "sun." Original sense in world without end, translating L. saecula saeculorum, and in WORLDLY (Cf. worldly). L. saeculum can mean both "age" and "world," as can Gk. aion. World power in the geopolitical sense first recorded 1900. World-class is attested from 1950, originally of Olympic athletes.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • World — World, n. [OE. world, werld, weorld, weoreld, AS. weorold, worold; akin to OS. werold, D. wereld, OHG. weralt, worolt, werolt, werlt, G. welt, Icel. ver[ o]ld, Sw. verld, Dan. verden; properly, the age of man, lifetime, humanity; AS. wer a man +… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • world — /werrld/, n. 1. the earth or globe, considered as a planet. 2. (often cap.) a particular division of the earth: the Western world. 3. the earth or a part of it, with its inhabitants, affairs, etc., during a particular period: the ancient world. 4 …   Universalium

  • World — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Sommaire 1 Sport 1.1 Baseball 1.2 Lutte …   Wikipédia en Français

  • World — The world is a proper noun for the planet Earth envisioned from an anthropocentric or human worldview, as a place inhabited by human beings and other terrestrial lifes. It is often used to signify the sum of human experience and history, or the… …   Wikipedia

  • world — I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English woruld human existence, this world, age (akin to Old High German weralt age, world); akin to Old English wer man, eald old more at virile, old Date: before 12th century 1. a. the earthly state… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • world — See: COME UP IN THE WORLD or RISE IN THE WORLD, DEAD TO THE WORLD, FOR ALL THE WORLD, IN A WORLD OF ONE S OWN or IN A WORLD BY ONESELF, IN THE WORLD, LOOK AT THE WORLD THROUGH ROSE COLORED GLASSES, NOT FOR THE WORLD, ON TOP OF THE WORLD or… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • world — See: COME UP IN THE WORLD or RISE IN THE WORLD, DEAD TO THE WORLD, FOR ALL THE WORLD, IN A WORLD OF ONE S OWN or IN A WORLD BY ONESELF, IN THE WORLD, LOOK AT THE WORLD THROUGH ROSE COLORED GLASSES, NOT FOR THE WORLD, ON TOP OF THE WORLD or… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • World XV — The World Rugby XV is an international rugby union team composed of the best international players selected by a coach. The World XV games are not test matches and are mainly played for fun. Their most recent tour was in South Africa in June 2006 …   Wikipedia

  • World XV — El equipo de rugby denominado World Rugby XV es un seleccionado de rugby compuesto de los mejores jugadores del mundo elegidos por un entrenador. Los encuentros en los que participa el World XV no son test matches y son utilizado para… …   Wikipedia Español

  • world — 1. noun /wɝəɫd̥,wɜː(ɹ)ld,wɝld,warl(d),wʌrl(d)/lang=sco a) Human collective existence; existence in general. There will always be lovers, till the world’s end. b) The Universe. People are dying of starvation all over the world …   Wiktionary

  • World of Oz — The World of Oz was a British psychedelic pop group who released a sole self titled LP in 1968, before fading into relative obscurity, although CD re issues of the album are now widely available. Their song The Muffin Man was a minor hit in the… …   Wikipedia

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