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Origin and history of world

world(n.)

Middle English, from Old English woruld, worold "human secular existence, pursuits, pleasures, and worries of this life," also "a long period of time," also "the human race, mankind, humanity" (but not "the earth"), a word peculiar to Germanic languages, with a literal sense of "age of man."

It is reconstructed to be from a Proto-Germanic compound of *wer "man" (Old English wer, still in werewolf; see virile) and *ald "age" (Old English ald; see old). Cognates include Old Saxon werold, Old Frisian warld, Dutch wereld, Old Norse verold, Old High German weralt, German Welt). Latin saeculum can mean both "age" and "world," as can Greek aiōn.

Originally "life on earth, this world (as opposed to the afterlife)." The sense extended to "the known world," then to "the physical world in the broadest sense, creation, the universe" (by c. 1200).

The oldest sense is in world without end (translating Latin saecula saeculorum), and in worldly. In theology especially "that part of humanity devoted to secular affairs and pleasures of the present state" (mid-14c.), a sense often revived by later sects. In modern scientific conception, "planetary body conceived of as peopled," by 1713.

In Old English gospels, the commonest word for "the physical world," was Middangeard (Old Norse Midgard), literally "the middle enclosure" (see yard (n.1)), which is rooted in Germanic cosmology. Greek kosmos in its ecclesiastical sense of "world of people" sometimes was rendered in Gothic as manaseþs, literally "seed of man." The usual Old Norse word was heimr, literally "abode" (see home).

According to Buck, words for "world" in some other Indo-European languages derive from the root for "bottom, foundation" (such as Irish domun, Old Church Slavonic duno, related to English deep); the Lithuanian word is pasaulis, from pa- "under" + saulė "sun."

The English word later was used of any state or sphere of existence (c. 1200), such as "whole number of people united by a common faith, heritage, etc." (c. 1600). In modern geography, 1550s, "particular portion or part of the globe" (as New World).

It is attested by c., 1200 in emphatic phrases expressing wonder, perplexity, etc. (as how in the world?). The hyperbolic or emphatic meaning "a great quantity or number," in a world of, is from late 14c. For all the world "in every particular" is by mid-14c.

Out of this world "surpassing, marvelous" is from 1928; earlier it meant "dead." To think the world of "hold in highest possible esteem" is by 1886, American English.

I know a little maiden

With hair of raven hue

She thinks the world of me

Though she may not care for you.

["About My Girl," in Bangor (Maine) Commercial, April 3, 1886]

World power in the geopolitical sense is recorded by 1900. World language is by 1867 as "language understood and employed on every continent;" by 1877 in reference to English as the proper one, by 12885 of Volapuk.

World Cup is by 1951; U.S. baseball World Series is by 1893 (originally often World's Series). World-class is attested from 1950, originally of Olympic athletes.

World-wearied is by 1590s.

Entries linking to world

deep(adj.)

Old English deop "having considerable extension downward," especially as measured from the top or surface, also figuratively, "profound, awful, mysterious; serious, solemn," from Proto-Germanic *deupaz (source also of Old Saxon diop, Old Frisian diap, Dutch diep, Old High German tiof, German tief, Old Norse djupr, Danish dyb, Swedish djup, Gothic diups "deep"), from PIE root *dheub- "deep, hollow" (source also of Lithuanian dubus "deep, hollow," Old Church Slavonic duno "bottom, foundation," Welsh dwfn "deep," Old Irish domun "world," via sense development from "bottom" to "foundation" to "earth" to "world").

By early 14c. "extensive in any direction analogous to downward," as measured from the front. From late 14c. of sound, "low in pitch, grave," also of color, "intense." By c. 1200, of persons, "sagacious, of penetrating mind." From 1560s, of debt., etc., "closely involved, far advanced."

Deep pocket as figurative of wealth is from 1951. To go off the deep end "lose control of oneself" is slang recorded by 1921, probably in reference to the deep end of a swimming pool, where a person on the surface can no longer touch bottom. Deep waters by 1530s were figurative of something too much for comfort or safety.

When 3-D films seemed destined to be the next wave and the biggest thing to hit cinema since talkies, they were known as deepies (1953).

old(adj.)

Old English ald (Anglian), eald (West Saxon, Kentish) "antique, of ancient origin, belonging to antiquity, primeval; long in existence or use; near the end of the normal span of life; elder, mature, experienced," from Proto-Germanic *althaz "grown up, adult" (source also of Old Frisian ald, Gothic alþeis, Dutch oud, German alt), originally a past-participle stem of a verb meaning "grow, nourish" (compare Gothic alan "to grow up," Old Norse ala "to nourish"), from PIE root *al- (2) "to grow, nourish."

The original Old English vowel is preserved in Scots auld, also in alderman. The original comparative and superlative (elder, eldest) are retained in particular uses.

The usual PIE root is *sen- (see senior (adj.)). A few Indo-European languages distinguish words for "old" (vs. young) from words for "old" (vs. new), and some have separate words for aged persons as opposed to old things. Latin senex was used of aged living things, mostly persons, while vetus (literally "having many years") was used of inanimate things. Greek geraios was used mostly of humans; palaios was used mostly of things, of persons only in a derogatory sense. Greek also had arkhaios, literally "belonging to the beginning," which parallels French ancien, used mostly with reference to things "of former times."

Old English also had fyrn "ancient," which is related to Old English feor "far, distant" (see far, and compare Gothic fairneis, Old Norse forn "old, of old, of former times," Old High German firni "old, experienced").

The meaning "of a specified age" (three days old) is from late Old English. The sense of "pertaining to or characteristic of the earlier or earliest of two or more stages of development or periods of time" is from late Old English.

As an intensive, "great, high," mid-15c., now only following another adjective (gay old time, good old Charlie Brown). As a noun, "those who are old," 12c. Of old "of old times" is from late 14c.

Old age "period of life of advanced years" is from early 14c. Old Testament is attested from mid-14c. (in late Old English it was old law). Old lady "wife, mother" is attested from c. 1775 (but compare Old English seo ealde hlæfdige "the queen dowager"). Old man "man who has lived long" is from late Old English; the sense of "husband, father, boss" is from 1854, earlier (1830) it was military slang for "commanding officer;" old boy as a familiar form of address is by c. 1600.

Old days "former times" is from late Old English; old time "times gone by" is from late 14c.; good old days, "former times conceived as better than the present," sometimes ironic, is by 1670s. Good old with a person's name is by 1888, "A familiar address, derisive or affectionate according to circumstances" [Farmer].

Old Light (adj.), in religion, "favoring the old faith or principles," is by 1819.

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Trends of world

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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yard

"patch of ground around a house," Old English geard "fenced enclosure, garden, court; residence, house," from Proto-Germanic *gardan- (source also of Old Norse garðr "enclosure, garden, yard;" Old Frisian garda, Dutch gaard, Old High German garto, German Garten "garden;" Gothic g

great

Old English great "big, tall, thick, stout, massive; coarse," from West Germanic *grauta- "coarse, thick" (source also of Old Saxon grot, Old Frisian grat, Dutch groot, German groß "great"). If the original sense was "coarse," it is perhaps from PIE root *ghreu- "to rub, grind,"

old-world

1712, "belonging to a prehistoric age," see old + world. Meaning "of or pertaining to Eurasia and Africa," as opposed to the Americas, is by 1877. The noun phrase Old World in this sense is by 1590s. The division of the earth into Old World and New World among Europeans dates to

mundane

mid-15c., mondeine, "of this world, worldly, terrestrial," from Old French mondain "of this world, worldly, earthly, secular...;" also "pure, clean; noble, generous" (12c.) and directly from Late Latin mundanus "belonging to the world" (as distinct...from the Church), in classical Latin "a citizen of the world, cosmopolite," from mundus "universe, world," which is identical...Blount's "Glossographia" (1656) has mundivagant "wandring through the world."...

Donald

Dofnald, Dufenald, probably from Gaelic Domhnall, Old Irish Domnall (pronounced "Dovnall"), from Proto-Celtic *Dubno-valos "world-mighty..., ruler of the world," from *walos "ruler" (from PIE root *wal- "to be strong") + Old Irish domun "world," from PIE root...*dheub- "deep, hollow," via sense development from "bottom" to "foundation" to "earth" to "world" (see deep (adj.))....

ecumenical

late 16c., "representing the entire (Christian) world," formed in English as an ecclesiastical word, from Late Latin oecumenicus..."general, universal," from Greek oikoumenikos "from the whole world," from he oikoumene ge "the inhabited world (as known...Greeks and their neighbors considered as developed human society (as opposed to barbarian lands)," in later use "the Roman world...

cosmic

1640s, "worldly, of this world," a sense now obsolete, from Latinized form of Greek kosmikos "worldly, earthly, of the world...," from kosmos "world-order, world" (see cosmos)....

land

Old English lond, land, "ground, soil," also "definite portion of the earth's surface, home region of a person or a people, territory marked by political boundaries," from Proto-Germanic *landja- (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisian Dutch, Gothic land, German Land), perhaps fro

reality

1540s, "quality of being real, objective reality," from French réalité and directly from Medieval Latin realitatem (nominative realitas), from Late Latin realis (see real (adj.)). Also compare realty, which was the older form of the word in the sense of "reality" (mid-15c.). Mean

terra firma

c. 1600, "part of the Italian mainland ruled by Venice," from Modern Latin terra firma, literally "firm land," from Latin terra "earth, land" (from PIE root *ters- "to dry") + firma, fem. of firmus "strong, steadfast" (from suffixed form of PIE root *dher- "to hold firmly, suppor

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Dictionary entries near world

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The original Old English vowel is preserved in Scots auld, also in alderman. The original comparative and superlative (elder, eldest) are retained in particular uses.

Old Light (adj.), in religion, "favoring the old faith or principles," is by 1819.