The word 'temporal' originates from the Latin temporalis, an adjective derived from tempus, meaning "time, season, or period." This Latin root is believed to stem from the Proto-Indo-European base tem- or ten-, associated with stretching or extension, conceptually linking to the measured duration of time. In English, the primary sense evolved to denote anything pertaining to time or the material world bound by time, distinguishing it from the spiritual or eternal. A specialized anatomical sense, relating to the temples of the head, developed separately from the Medieval Latin phrase tempus (pl. tempora), which came to denote that specific body part, likely because it is the place where time shows its effects (e.g., graying hair).

Structure: tempor (time) + al (adjective suffix) tempor (from Latin tempus, meaning "time"); al (from Latin -alis, an adjective-forming suffix meaning "of or pertaining to").