temporality

noun

tem·​po·​ral·​i·​ty ˌtem-pə-ˈra-lə-tē 

plural temporalities

1

a

: civil or political as distinguished from spiritual or ecclesiastical power or authority

b

: an ecclesiastical property or revenue

—often used in plural

2

: the quality or state of being temporal

Examples of temporality in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nashville International Airport was temporality under a ground stop. —Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 9 May 2024

The works presented — some of which haven’t been exhibited since the time they were made — span various mediums that explore history, temporality and biography. —Steven Vargas, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2023

In their script, Turturro and Levy, a first-time playwright, tend to alternate between monologues from Sabbath and dramatic action, and the latter tends to occur in a blurred temporality with Sabbath’s memories sometimes overlapping with his present. —Vulture, 2 Nov. 2023

The book, the story of Seymour, an ambitious would-be filmmaker and a second-rate husband, explores different temporalities, creating a polyphony of the sweeping, legato past and the rhythmic present. —Sam Thielman, The New Yorker, 21 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English temperalte, temporalte, temporalyte (in plural or collective) "worldly matters, secular authority," borrowed from Anglo-French temporalté, temporalité, borrowed from Late Latin temporālitāt-, temporālitās "temporary character, duration of the present time," from Latin temporālis temporal entry 1 + -itāt-, -itās -ity

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a