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

Perhaps Beeber’s abstractions evoke not only multiple spaces, but multiple temporalities. —Barry Schwabsky, ARTnews.com, 5 Nov. 2024

For Zionists, Aziza argues, the future is a trap of their own making: For the perpetrators of the genocide, temporality is something to be mastered, bent. —Seyward Darby, Longreads, 30 Oct. 2024

Behind his daily effort in painting the quince tree, the spectator may perceive (that has always been my hope) the sign of a different, essential temporality. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 23 Aug. 2024

The film’s plot itself is nonlinear, making frequent, abrupt jumps between past, present, and future—demonstrating an oral temporality, one rooted in a folkloric storytelling unmoored from Western linearity and Hollywood convention. —Ruby Thélot, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2024

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