profanus

Profanus is a Latin adjective meaning unholy, profane, or secular. It derives from pro- meaning before or outside and fanum meaning temple, literally “outside the temple.” In Latin, profanus described what lay beyond sacred spaces and rites, and by extension anything not part of ritual worship.

Historically, the term contrasted with sacrum or sanctum and was used to distinguish sacred from ordinary or lay matters. In classical Roman and late antique texts, profanus could refer to daily life, common people, or non-religious activities. In Christian usage, it came to denote secular life as distinct from ecclesiastical or liturgical domains; res profanae signified secular affairs, while profanus occasionally functioned as a noun for laypersons.

In modern scholarship the English noun the profane stems from the same root and forms the basis of the sacred–profane dichotomy in sociology and religious studies. Emile Durkheim popularized the framework in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, treating the profane as the ordinary, mundane dimension of life contrasted with the sacred.

Today, profanus is mostly encountered in historical, linguistic, or theological discussions. In English translation, profane or secular are used, while to profane means to desecrate something sacred. The word carries its own nuance: not sacred, worldly, or ordinary; the sense can be neutral or pejorative depending on context.