mundane

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle English mondeyne, from Old French mondain, from Late Latin mundanus, from Latin mundus (world). Compare Danish mondæn.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /mʌnˈdeɪn/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪn

Adjective

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mundane (comparative mundaner, superlative mundanest)

  1. Worldly, earthly, profane, vulgar as opposed to heavenly.
    Synonym: worldly
    Antonyms: heavenly, arcane
  2. Pertaining to the Universe, cosmos or physical reality, as opposed to the spiritual world.
    • 1662 Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogue 2):
      Amongst mundane bodies, six there are that do perpetually move, and they are the six Planets; of the rest, that is, of the Earth, Sun, and fixed Stars, it is disputable which of them moveth, and which stands still.
  3. Ordinary; not new.
    Synonyms: banal, boring, commonplace, everyday, routine, workaday, jejune, pedestrian; see also Thesaurus:boring, Thesaurus:common
  4. Tedious; repetitive and boring.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:boring

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

References

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Noun

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mundane (plural mundanes)

  1. An unremarkable, ordinary human being.
  2. (slang, derogatory, in various subcultures) A person considered to be "normal", part of the mainstream culture, outside the subculture, not part of the elite group.
    • 1959 December 1, Ron Bennett, Skyrack[1], number 10:
      THE LIVERPOOL PARTY at Pat and Frank Milnes’ celebrated both the Gunpowder Plot and the Liverpool Club’s 400th and something meeting. Two mundane and non-fan friends of the hosts - women, too - played brag all night and Norman Weedall disappeared at 3 a.m.
    • 1989 Spring, Lawrence Person, “Fear and Loathing in New Orleans: A Savage Journey Into the Heart of American Fandom”, in Nova Express, volume 2, number 3 (whole number #7), page 10:
      The Demon Barber and I played Shock the Mundanes. The door would open up and we would start a sentence in mid-imaginary conversation, like—‘Of course, they never found the body.’
    • 1996, Angel of Death, “furries vs. mundanes”, in alt.fan.furry (Usenet):
      Some people just think your [sic] a sicko or something for enjoying the art. I know that alot [sic] of the time, I would rather see some nice nude furrygirls instead of pictures of nude mundanes.
  3. (derogatory, satanism) A person who is not a Satanist.
  4. (fandom slang, as "the mundane") The world outside fandom; the normal, mainstream world.
    • 1966 November, Lee Hoffman, “Our Authors”, in Science-Fiction Five-Yearly[2], number 4, page 35:
      Long famed in fandom, Mr. Bloch skyrocketed to prominence in the mundane when his autobiographical novel, PSYCHO, was made into a hit motion picture.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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See also

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  • mundane on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Article on the use of “mundane” as a derogatory term.

Anagrams

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Latin

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Adjective

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mundāne

  1. vocative masculine singular of mundānus