World

World is a common name for the planet Earth but is also often used to mean the sum of human civilization living on it, specifically human experience, history, or the 'human condition' in general. .

In a metaphysical context, World may refer to the Universe, everything that constitutes reality: see World (philosophy)

Etymology

In English, the etymology of world may be a compound of the obsolete words were, "man", and eld, "age"; thus, its etymology would be semantically rendered as "age or life of man". Compare to the word for "world" in a closely related language to English, Dutch, which is "wereld."

Usage

'World' distinguishes the entire planet or population from any particular country or region: world affairs are those which pertain not just to one place but to the whole world, and world history is a field of history which 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' can also be used attributively, as an adjective, to mean 'global', 'relating to the whole world', forming usages such as World community. See World (adjective).

By extension, a 'world' may refer to any planet or heavenly body, especially when it is thought of as inhabited.

'World', when qualified, can also refer to a particular domain of human experience.

• 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.
• The New World is a part of the world discovered or colonized by Europeans later than other parts; it usually refers to the American continents or to Australia. Native Americans and Native Australians tend to dislike this usage. For them America and Australia are not new. Their ancestors have lived there since time immemorial. The Old World refers, by contrast, to the continents of Europe, Asia and north Africa.

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