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sublunary

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sublunary

  • /sʌbˈluːnəɹi/ UK
  • /sʌbˈluːnɹi/ UK
  • /ˈsʌbl(j)uːnəɹɪ/ UK, archaic
  • /sʌbˈlunəɹi/ US

Where it comes from

PIE word

*upó

The adjective is a learned borrowing from Late Latin sublūnāris (“sublunar, sublunary”) + English -ary (suffix meaning of or pertaining to forming adjectives). Sublūnāris is derived from Latin sub- (prefix meaning ‘below, beneath, under’) + lūnāris (“of or pertaining to the moon, lunar”) (from lūna (“moon”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to see; to shine”)) + -āris (suffix forming adjectives denoting a pertaining to or relationship)). By surface analysis, sub- + lunary.

The noun is derived from the adjective.

adjective

  1. historical, literary, not comparable Situated beneath the moon; specifically, between the moon and the earth. Patritius [Franciscus Patricius?] doth not onely auerre this, but that the Sea is as a ſublunarie Planet, mouing it ſelfe, and moued by the ſuperiour bodies to effect the generation of things: […]

    Similar: sublunar, cislunar · Opposite: superlunary, superlunar, translunar, translunary

  2. broadly, literary, not comparable In or of this world (as opposed to heaven, etc.); earthly, terrestrial. Dull ſublunary lovers love / (VVhoſe ſoule is ſenſe) cannot admit / Abſence, becauſe it doth remove / Thoſe things vvhich elemented it.

    Opposite: celestial, ethereal, heavenly, otherworldly, unworldly

  3. broadly, literary, not comparable Of or relating to the material world (as opposed to clerical, sacred, or spiritual); ephemeral, temporal, worldly. Whither now, O whither do ye rove, O my thoughts? Can ye hope to find rest, in any of these sublunary contentments?
  4. figuratively, literary, not comparable Inferior, subordinate. For Simonie doth vſually poyſon and corrupt tvvo VVell-heads, vvhence the ſtreames of good life doe generally flovv vnto all the people; that is, the Parſon, and the Patron. Theſe be, as the tvvo great Lights in the Firmament of the Church, from vvhom the ſublunary and ſubordinate people receiue the

noun sublunaries

  1. in plural, literary A person or thing which is of the (material) world. She vvas ſoaring upvvard to her native ſkies. She vvas got above earth, by means, too, of the Earth-born: And ſomething extraordinary vvas to be done to keep her vvith us Sublunaries.
  2. in plural, literary A less important person; an inferior, a subordinate.

Translations

Every language

adj situated beneath the moon; specifically, between the moon and the earth

Españolsublunar
Françaissublunaire
Deutschsublunarisch
Italianosublunare
Românăsublunar

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MLA

"sublunary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sublunary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sublunary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sublunary

Chicago

"sublunary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sublunary.

BibTeX
@misc{sublunary_2026,
  title = {sublunary},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sublunary},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}