world
Meanings
- The subjective human experience, regarded collectively; human collective existence; existence in general; the reality we live in.
- The subjective human experience, regarded individually.
- A majority of people.
- The Universe.
- The Earth, especially in a geopolitical or cultural context, or as the physical planet.
- Any of several possible scenarios concerning The Earth, either as the physical planet, or in a geopolitical, cultural or societal context.
- (Several) alternative scenarios concerning The Earth, either as the physical planet, or in a geopolitical, cultural or societal context.
- A planet, especially one which is inhabited or inhabitable.
- Any other astronomical body which may be inhabitable, such as a natural satellite.
- A very large extent of country.
- In various mythologies, cosmologies, etc., one of a number of separate realms or regions having different characteristics and occupied by different types of inhabitants.
- A fictional realm, such as a planet, containing one or multiple societies of beings, especially intelligent ones.
- To consider or cause to be considered from a global perspective; to consider as a global whole, rather than making or focusing on national or other distinctions; compare globalize.
- To make real; to make worldly.
- The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:
- Earth: the Earth (our earth).
- The Universe: our universe.
- Existence.
- Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:
- The Third World (the third world).
- The First World (the first world).
- The Second World (the second world).
- The Fourth World (the fourth world).
- The Industrialized World (the industrialized world).
- The Developed World (the developed world).
- The Developing World (the developing world).
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós Proto-Germanic *weraz Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *h₂életi Proto-Germanic *alaną Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Germanic *-þiz Proto-Germanic *aldiz Proto-Germanic *weraldiz Proto-West Germanic *weraldi Old English weorold Middle English world English world From Middle English world, from Old English weorold (“world”), from Proto-West Germanic *weraldi, from Proto-Germanic *weraldiz (“lifetime, human existence, world”, literally “age/era of man”), equivalent to wer (“man”) + eld (“age”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English mounde (“world”), from Old French monde, munde (“world”). Cognates Cognate with Scots warld (“world”), North Frisian Wārel, wäält, wråål (“world”), Saterland Frisian Waareld (“world”), West Frisian wrâld (“world”), Afrikaans wêreld (“world”), Bavarian Wöd (“world”), Dutch wereld (“world”), German, Luxembourgish Welt (“world”), German Low German Wereld, Werld (“world”), Vilamovian wełt (“world”), Yiddish וועלט (velt, “world”), Danish verden (“world”), Elfdalian wärd (“world”), Faroese verð, verøld (“world”), Icelandic veröld (“world”), Norn vrildan (“the earth”), Norwegian Bokmål verd, verden (“(the) world”), Norwegian Nynorsk verd (“world”), Swedish värld (“world”).