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World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, ''worldwide'', i.e. anywhere on Earth〔(Merriam-webster.com )〕 or pertaining to anywhere on earth. In a philosophical context it may refer to: # the whole of the physical Universe, or # an ontological world (''see world disclosure''). In a theological context, ''world'' usually refers to the material or the profane sphere, as opposed to the celestial, spiritual, transcendent or sacred. The "end of the world" refers to scenarios of the final end of human history, often in religious contexts. World history is commonly understood as spanning the major geopolitical developments of about five millennia, from the first civilizations to the present. World population is the sum of all human populations at any time; similarly, world economy is the sum of the economies of all societies (all countries), especially in the context of globalization. Terms like world championship, gross world product, world flags etc. also imply the sum or combination of all current-day sovereign states. In terms such as world religion, world language, world government, and world war, ''world'' suggests international or intercontinental scope without necessarily implying participation of the entire world. In terms such as world map and world climate, ''world'' is used in the sense detached from human culture or civilization, referring to the planet Earth physically. ==Etymology and usage== The English word ''world'' comes from the Old English ''weorold (-uld), weorld, worold (-uld, -eld)'', a compound of ''wer'' "man" and ''eld'' "age," which thus means roughly "Age of Man."〔(''American Heritage Dictionary'' )〕 The Old English is a reflex of the Common Germanic '' *wira-alđiz'', also reflected in Old Saxon ''werold'', Old High German ''weralt'', Old Frisian ''warld'' and Old Norse ''verǫld'' (whence the Icelandic ''veröld'').〔Orel, Vladimir (2003). ''A Handbook of Germanic Etymology'' Leiden: Brill. pg. 462. ISBN 90-04-12875-1.〕 The corresponding word in Latin is ''mundus'', literally "clean, elegant", itself a loan translation of Greek ''cosmos'' "orderly arrangement." While the Germanic word thus reflects a mythological notion of a "domain of Man" (compare Midgard), presumably as opposed to the divine sphere on the one hand and the chthonic sphere of the underworld on the other, the Greco-Latin term expresses a notion of creation as an act of establishing order out of chaos. 'World' distinguishes the entire planet or population from any particular country or region: ''world affairs'' pertain not just to one place but to the whole world, and ''world history'' is a field of history that examines events from a global (rather than a national or a regional) perspective. ''Earth'', on the other hand, refers to the planet as a physical entity, and distinguishes it from other planets and physical objects. 'World' was also classically used to mean the material universe, or the cosmos: "The worlde is an apte frame of heauen and earthe, and all other naturall thinges contained in them." 〔 cited in 〕 The earth was often described as 'the center of the world'.〔e.g. 〕 By extension, a * The ''world of work'' describes paid work and the pursuit of a career, in all its social aspects, to distinguish it from home life and academic study. * The ''fashion world'' describes the environment of the designers, fashion houses and consumers that make up the fashion industry. * historically, the ''New World'' vs. the ''Old World'', referring to the parts of the world colonized in the wake of the age of discovery. Now mostly used in zoology and botany, as in New World monkey. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「world」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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