world

Pronunciation: /wɜɹld/

Reading level: easy

Estimated CEFR level: A1 — Beginner

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun everything that exists anywhere
  2. noun people in general; especially a distinctive group of people with some shared interest
  3. noun all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you

Etymology

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”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

universe, existence, creation, cosmos, macrocosm

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
natural object
Narrower (hyponyms)
nature, natural order, closed universe

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