"temporal" vs. "temporary" [closed]
Is there any difference between the two?
In a technical document I have used a phrase "this is a temporal solution" and my coworker told that he'd use "temporary" in the context. Is one of the two more correct than the second?
Solution 1:
Temporal means “pertaining to time”. Personally I have not enountered this word in normal speech at all, even in somewhat formal writing. I have only encountered it as a technical term. For example, in grammar, the part of the sentence that specifies the time at which something happened (e.g. “today” or “throughout the year”) is a temporal adverbial. The word also comes up a lot in science-fiction wherever some made-up technical term pertaining to time (usually time travel) is required, e.g. temporal mechanics. In real science, the term is sometimes used as a complement to spatial (pertaining to space).
Temporary is a much more common word. It means “lasting for a limited time” and is the opposite of permanent. Politicians sometimes qualify their policies as a “temporary measure” to give the impression that there are plans for them to be repealed in due course (which, of course, never happens, but that’s a different matter).
Edit: In the specific example in your question, I think you most likely mean “a solution that isn’t permanent”, so temporary is definitely what you need. Temporal is wrong unless you are contrasting your solution against one that is spatial or in some other way not relating to time.
Solution 2:
- temporal means "of or relating to time as opposed to eternity"
- temporary means "lasting for a limited time"
One has no exact limit in time, the other comes with the definite notion of an expiration date.
- If you can say: "use this for now" (without specifying when you won't be able to use "this" anymore), "temporal" is fine.
- But if you can say: "use this until xxx", then "temporary" is the right choice.
That being said, I suspect there are many instances where one is being used instead of the other...
Solution 3:
Temporal always refers to matters that are finite as opposed to infinite. You would not use it as just another synonym for temporary, even though it does mean that in a more specific way. It is more a synonym for mortal and usually refers to something involving the span of a human lifetime. It also is used to contrast human concerns with the religious or the divine. A bishop, for example, might speak of tending to the temporal needs of his flock to refer to the building of a hospital, since the repair of human bodies has nothing really to do with his principal duty of tending to their (supposedly) immortal souls.