secular

来自拉丁语 saecularis,现时的，现世的，来自 saeculum,现时，现世，可能来自 PIE*se,播种， 耕种，词源同 seed,semen.-cul,-culum,工具格后缀，词源同 oracle,hibernacle.比喻用法，即相 比于神和宗教的永恒，种子只有一次生命过程，引申词义世俗的，非宗教的。

secular

secular: [13] Latin saeculum, a word of uncertain origin, meant ‘generation, age’. It was used in early Christian texts for the ‘temporal world’ (as opposed to the ‘spiritual world’), and that was the sense in which its derived adjective saeculāris passed via Old French seculer into English. The more familiar modern English meaning ‘non-religious’ emerged in the 16th century.

secular (adj.)

c. 1300, "living in the world, not belonging to a religious order," also "belonging to the state," from Old French seculer (Modern French séculier), from Late Latin saecularis "worldly, secular, pertaining to a generation or age," from Latin saecularis "of an age, occurring once in an age," from saeculum "age, span of time, generation."

According to Watkins, this is probably from PIE *sai-tlo-, with instrumental element *-tlo- + *sai- "to bind, tie" (see sinew), extended metaphorically to successive human generations as links in the chain of life. Another theory connects it with words for "seed," from PIE root *se- "to sow" (see sow (v.), and compare Gothic mana-seþs "mankind, world," literally "seed of men").

Used in ecclesiastical writing like Greek aion "of this world" (see cosmos). It is source of French siècle. Ancient Roman ludi saeculares was a three-day, day-and-night celebration coming once in an "age" (120 years). In English, in reference to humanism and the exclusion of belief in God from matters of ethics and morality, from 1850s.

1. The church can only go so far in secular matters.

教会在世俗事务上只能做这么多。

来自柯林斯例句

2. Ours is a secular society.

我们的社会是个世俗社会。

来自《权威词典》

3. We live in an increasingly secular society.

我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会.

来自《简明英汉词典》

4. Mexico is a secular state and does not have diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

墨西哥是个世俗国家，和梵蒂冈没有外交关系。

来自柯林斯例句

5. Cardinal Daly has said that churches should not be used for profane or secular purposes.

戴利主教已经说过，教堂不应该用于非宗教或世俗的目的。

来自柯林斯例句