WORLD

#redirect World (magazine)

World

[[Image:Earth satellite plane.jpg|thumb|333px|right|The World in plate carr�e projection]] In English, ''world'' is rooted in a compound of the obsolete words ''were,'' man, and ''eld,'' age; thus, its oldest meaning is "Age of Man." Its primary modern meaning is the planet Earth, especially when capitalized: ''the World''. In this sense, a world map is a map of the surface of the Earth. World can also refer to world population in general or to a distinct group of people. ==Physical locations== In other contexts, "world" is sometimes used to mean any planet; for example, Mars (planet) and Jupiter (planet) are two worlds within the solar system. "World" is sometimes used to refer to the entire Universe. This is less common now that knowledge of space is more commonplace; however, it is still used vaguely in this sense (as in "the whole wide world"), which it is actually the most frequent sense in philosophy. ==Other meanings== ''World'' can be used in less literal words; for example, two people with very little in common are "living in two different worlds." The "end of the world" usually means "the end of everything I am familiar with." In Christianity ''the world'' connotes the fall of man and corrupt world order of human society outside the community of believers. ''The world'' is frequently cited alongside ''the flesh'' and ''the Devil'' as a source of temptation that Christians should flee. ''World'' can also refer to a fictional setting, for example the world of ''Star Trek'' or the world of ''The Lord of the Rings''. See ''fictional realm''. In knowledge engineering and knowledge level modeling, a system's ''world'' is the knowledge that system has about its environment. The term can also be used in a culturally specific context: commentators increasingly refer, for example, to the "Muslim world" as if it were a distinct entity. In Native American mythology, the Fifth World is the coming world that will exist after the current world. The World (archipelago) is an archipelago of artificial islands, shaped like the continents of the Earth, being constructed off Dubai. A radio program is also named ''The World (radio program)'', as is a fictional MMORPG in the anime series .hack. Additionally, ''World'' can refer to World (Magazine), the fourth largest newsweekly in the United States. ===First World, Second World, Third World=== [[Image:Physical_world.jpg|thumb|333px|right|Robinson projection map :Image:World-map-2004-cia-factbook-large-2m.jpg]] The terms First World, Second World, and Third World were used to divide the nations of Earth into three broad categories. The three terms did not arise simultaneously. After World War II it became common to speak of the capitalist and Communist countries as two major blocs, scarcely using such terms as the "free world" as compared to the "communist bloc". The two "worlds" were not numbered. It was eventually pointed out that there were a great many countries that fit into neither category, and in the 1950s this latter group came to be called the Third World. It then began to seem that there ought to be a "First World" and a "Second World." These latter terms were always much less common. In the context of the Cold War: : First World refers to nations that were within the Western European and United States' sphere of influence — e.g., the NATO countries of North America and Western Europe, Japan, and some of the former British Empire colonies such as Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. : Second World referred to nations within the Soviet Union's sphere of influence, e.g. Warsaw Pact countries. Besides the Soviet Union proper, most of Eastern Europe was run by satellite governments working closely with Moscow. This term may or may not also refer to Communist countries whose leadership were at odds with Moscow, e.g. China and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. : Third World refers to nations within neither sphere of influence, who were often members of the Non-Aligned Movement. They were mostly developing country, and many of them are located in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. They are often nations that were colonized by another nation in the past. After World War II, the First and Second Worlds struggled to expand their respective spheres of influence to the Third World. The militaries and intelligence services of the United States and the Soviet Union worked both secretly and overtly to influence Third World governments, with mixed success. : There were a number of countries which did not fit comfortably into this neat definition of partition, including Switzerland, Sweden, and the Republic of Ireland, which chose to be neutral. Finland was under the '''Soviet Union's''' sphere of influence but was not communist, nor was it a member of the Warsaw Pact. Austria was under the United States' sphere of influence, but in 1955, when the country again became a fully independent republic, it did so under the condition that it remained neutral. With the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, the term Second World largely fell out of use — though Third World remains popular. The remaining Communist countries either became more isolated from the world economy, as in North Korea and Cuba, or began integrating capitalist concepts such as private enterprise into their societies and forging new trading ties with external capitalist economies, as in Vietnam and China. In more recent use, the term First World refers to developed nation, while Third World, in contrast, refers to developing nation. There is also the less commonly used term Fourth World, often used to refer to nations that lack any national representation at the UN, but that may enjoy representation at UNPO — indigenous peoples living within or across state boundaries. ==See also== *World economy *''The World (Tarot card) is a Major Arcana card in Tarot'' vo:Vol

World

There's a problem with the first line of this. Strictly speaking world refers to a planet, most often the earth. While the article does a good job of demonstrating the more inclusive (and common) uses of the term, it's initial definition uses universe in a more inclusive way than we might expect. Not only is this jarring (using world and universe without meaning space), but it's potentially confusing - the world is the universe, but worlds are smaller than universes aren't they? BUT I can't think how to change it, as it is quite elegant in its way. User:Verloren :Disagree - strictly it does not have to refer to a planet. World is often used a lot less literally to simply to refer everything that a person knows of, or as the summation of people in general etc... I don't think it needs changing as I agree the definition given is very elegant. When I set up the redirect to Earth, I did so by looking at what links to this article (to get a sense of why it was on the "most wanted" list). Most of the articles are referring to World as a synonym for Earth, so I would argue that Verloren's point is valid. See what you think of the revised wording I propose -- User:RobLa ---- I wonder if the First-, Second-. Third World should be covered in this article, or in articles of their own - as Third World actually is, and as also New World and Old World are. The current state seems inconsequent. ...additionally, I wonders about capitalization. Why redirect from Third World to Third world?
-- User:Ruhrjung 14:12, 4 Aug 2003 (UTC) ::I agree, The First/Second/Third world explanation should be in another page and only linked from the main World page. Also on the main page can be put some statistics (like the CIA Worldbook or other atlases) and/or links to other wikipedia pages like "World History", "World Geography", "World Living Beigns"/"World Biology", etc.

See other meanings of words starting from letter:

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