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Temporal vs Forever - What's the difference?

temporal | forever |

As nouns the difference between temporal and forever

is that temporal is (chiefly|in the plural) anything temporal or secular; a temporality or temporal can be (skeleton) either of the bones on the side of the skull, near the ears while forever is an extremely long time.

As an adjective temporal

is of or relating to time or temporal can be of the temples of the head.

As an adverb forever is

(duration) for all time, for all eternity; for an infinite amount of time.

temporal

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) temporal, from (etyl) temporal, from (etyl) temporalis, from .

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Of or relating to time.
  • Of limited time; not perpetual.
  • * Bible, 2 Corinthians iv. 18
  • The things which are seen are temporal , but the things which are not seen are eternal.
  • Of or relating to the material world, as opposed to (spiritual).
  • * 2011 , Thomas Penn, Winter King , Penguin 2012, p. 166:
  • Not long before, he had ruefully acknowledged in a letter to his pious mother that most of his appointments to the bench of bishops had been motivated by distinctly temporal impulses.
  • Lasting a short time only.
  • Civil or political, as distinguished from ecclesiastical.
  • temporal''' power; '''temporal courts
    Derived terms
    * extratemporal * metatemporal * temporality * temporally

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (chiefly, in the plural) Anything temporal or secular; a temporality.
  • (Dryden)
  • * Lowell
  • He assigns supremacy to the pope in spirituals, and to the emperor in temporals .

    Etymology 2

    From .

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • of the temples of the head
  • Derived terms
    * temporal bone * temporal lobe

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (skeleton) Either of the bones on the side of the skull, near the ears.
  • Any of a reptile's scales on the side of the head between the parietal and supralabial scales, and behind the postocular scales.
  • forever

    English

    Alternative forms

    * for ever

    Adverb

    (-)
  • (duration) for all time, for all eternity; for an infinite amount of time.
  • ''I shall love you forever .
  • * 1839 , Denison Olmsted, A Compendium of Astronomy Page 95
  • Secondly, When a body is once in motion it will continue to move forever , unless something stops it. When a ball is struck on the surface of the earth, the friction of the earth and the resistance of the air soon stop its motion.
  • (duration, colloquial) for a very long time, 'an' eternity.
  • ''We had to wait forever to get inside.
  • (frequency) constantly or frequently.
  • ''You are forever nagging me.
  • * 1912 : (Edgar Rice Burroughs), (Tarzan of the Apes), Chapter 5
  • Early in his boyhood he had learned to form ropes by twisting and tying long grasses together, and with these he was forever tripping Tublat or attempting to hang him from some overhanging branch.

    Usage notes

    * In the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth, the spelling for ever'' may be used instead of ''forever'' for the senses "for all time" and "for a long time". In Canada and the United States, generally only ''forever is used, regardless of sense.

    Synonyms

    * always * continually * eternally * evermore * for good * forevermore * for ever more * incessantly * until Kingdom come

    Derived terms

    * foreverness

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An extremely long time.
  • *
  • * 2007 , Ruth O'Callaghan, Where acid has etched
  • In the airport, holiday lovers kiss, mouth forevers , the usual argot betrays you. Desire makes love dull.
  • (colloquial) a mythical time in the infinite future that will never come.
  • ''Sure, I'd be happy to meet with you on the 12th of forever .