(tem′pər·əl) adjective
1. Pertaining to affairs of the present life, as contrasted with those of a future life; earthly, as opposed to heavenly.
2. Pertaining to or limited by time; transitory, as opposed to eternal.
3. Related to or concerned with worldly affairs; worldly; material, as opposed to spiritual.
4. Pertaining to civil law or authority; lay; secular: contrasted with clerical.
5. Gram. Of, pertaining to, or denoting time: temporal conjunctions. See synonyms under PROFANE.
—lords temporal
English, Scottish, and Irish lay peers with seats in the House of Lords. [<OF temporel <L temporalis <tempus, temporis time]
—tem′po·ral·ly adverb
—tem′po·ral·ness noun

(tem′pər·əl) adjective Anat.
Of, pertaining to, or situated at the temple or temples: the temporal bone. [<L temporalis <tempora. See TEMPLE².]

(tem′pər·äl′) noun SW U.S.
A field or portion of land; a farm, especially one not requiring irrigation. [<Sp. temporal storm, tempest;? <terreno de temporal land where heavy rains fall]