sublunary

Also sub·lu·nar

[suhb-loo-ner-ee, suhb-loo-nuh-ree]

adjective

1. situated beneath the moon or between the earth and the moon.

2. characteristic of or pertaining to the earth; terrestrial.

3. mundane or worldly.

   fleeting, sublunary pleasure.

sublunary

/ sʌbˈluːnərɪ /

adjective

1. situated between the moon and the earth

2. of or relating to the earth or world

Word History and Origins

Origin of sublunary¹

1585–95; < Late Latin sublūn ( āris ) ( sub-, lunar ) + -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of sublunary¹

C16: via Late Latin, from Latin _sub- + lūna moon

Example Sentences

“Among other things, many ignored the reality that millions of African Americans were quite pleased with the decidedly sublunary consolations of equal protection under the law.”

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In the Middle Ages the heavens had been compared to clockwork; now the same principle of regularity was, it was claimed, to be discovered in the sublunary world.

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He is scrupulously genial and polite, and happy to talk about theories of spacetime, but extremely reluctant to say anything on the record about the book’s more sublunary themes and ideas.

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But change is the only constant in our sublunary world, as writers down the centuries have noted; Powell, too, knew this well.

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For Plato, the sublunary world was a distorted projection of the world of essences.

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Related Words

• carnal 
• mundane 
• physical 
• temporal 
• terrestrial 
• worldly