temporal and temporary

Question

(missing image)

Do you have a headache? (habitual)
Have you got a headache? (temporal)

Native speakers would choose "temporary" over "temporal" in above case, but I don't understand why that is.
I looked them up in dictionaries, but couldn't counvince me of it.
What's the difference between "temporal" and "temporary"?

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Do you have a headache? (habitual)
Have you got a headache? (temporal)

Native speakers would choose "temporary" over "temporal" in above case, but I don't understand why that is.
I looked them up in dictionaries, but couldn't counvince me of it.
What's the difference between "temporal" and "temporary"?

Temporary - refers to something that only lasts for a limited, and usually short, time. eg If someone offers you a job for only one month, it's a temporary job.

Temporal - describes something that relates to time, with no suggestion of any kind of limit. Often used in a spiritual or philosophical way. eg in Medieval times, the Church took care of spiritual matters and the King was responsible for temporal matters. I think the contrast between temporal and spiritual arises from the concept that time is important for human existence but the soul is eternal.

You hear and read the word 'temporary' a lot, but you very seldom hear or read the word 'temporal'.

In your sentence above, I'd say

Have you got a headache? (describes a temporary condition)

Best wishes, Clive

Teleostomi · Answer

Clive, thanks very much for your answer! I understood it perfectly!

We could say "Time is a temporal aspect." I got that!

Anonymous · Answer

You've explained it very well, thank you.
I've been looking everywhere for the difference between these two words but most explanations were just too vague for me.

temporal and temporary

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions