I really don't want to get involved in this pathetic argument that no-one is ever going to solve, but what i post here is the definitions of what the word 'world' means fron Dictonary.com:

world /wɜrld/Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[wurld]Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation–noun
1. the earth or globe, considered as a planet.
2. (often initial capital letter) a particular division of the earth: the Western world.
3. the earth or a part of it, with its inhabitants, affairs, etc., during a particular period: the ancient world.
4. humankind; the human race; humanity: The world must eliminate war and poverty.
5. the public generally: The whole world knows it.
6. the class of persons devoted to the affairs, interests, or pursuits of this life: The world worships success.
7. a particular class of people, with common interests, aims, etc.: the fashionable world.
8. any sphere, realm, or domain, with all pertaining to it: a child's world; the world of dreams; the insect world.
9. everything that exists; the universe; the macrocosm.
10. any complex whole conceived as resembling the universe: the world of the microcosm.
11. one of the three general groupings of physical nature: animal world; mineral world; vegetable world.
12. any period, state, or sphere of existence: this world; the world to come.
13. Often, worlds. a great deal: That vacation was worlds of fun.
14. any indefinitely great expanse.
15. any heavenly body: the starry worlds.
—Idioms
16. bring into the world,
a. to give birth to; bear: My grandmother brought nine children into the world.
b. to deliver (a baby): the doctor brought many children into the world.
17. come into the world, to be born: Her first child came into the world in June.
18. for all the world,
a. for any consideration, however great: She wouldn't come to visit us for all the world.
b. in every respect; precisely: You look for all the world like my Aunt Mary.
19. in the world,
a. at all; ever: I never in the world would have believed such an obvious lie.
b. from among all possibilities: Where in the world did you find that hat?
20. on top of the world. top^1 (def. 46).
21. out of this or the world, exceptional; fine: The chef prepared a roast duck that was out of this world.
22. set the world on fire, to achieve great fame and success: He didn't seem to be the type to set the world on fire.
23. think the world of, to like or admire greatly: His coworkers think the world of him.
24. world without end, for all eternity; for always.

---

[Origin: bef. 900; ME; OE world, weorold; c. D wereld, G Welt, ON verǫld, all < Gmc *wer-ald- lit., age of man]

—Synonyms 1. See earth.


<CITE>Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.</CITE>
<CITE>American Heritage Dictionary</CITE> - Cite This Source
world (wūrld) Pronunciation Key
n.
  1. The earth.
  2. The universe.
  3. The earth with its inhabitants.
  4. The inhabitants of the earth; the human race.
    1. Humankind considered as social beings; human society: turned her back on the world.
    2. People as a whole; the public: The event amazed the world.
    3. A sphere of human activity or interest: the world of sports.
    4. A class or group of people with common characteristics or pursuits: the scientific world.
    5. Human existence; life: brought a child into the world.
    6. A state of existence: the next world.
  6. often World A specified part of the earth: the Western World.
  7. A part of the earth and its inhabitants as known at a given period in history: the ancient world.
  8. A realm or domain: the animal world; the world of imagination.
    1. A sphere of human activity or interest: the world of sports.
    2. A class or group of people with common characteristics or pursuits: the scientific world.
    3. Human existence; life: brought a child into the world.
    4. A state of existence: the next world.
  10. A particular way of life: the world of the homeless.
  11. All that relates to or affects the life of a person: He saw his world collapse about him.
  12. Secular life and its concerns: a man of the world.
    1. Human existence; life: brought a child into the world.
    2. A state of existence: the next world.
  14. A large amount; much. Often used in the plural: did her a world of good; candidates that are worlds apart on foreign policy.
  15. A celestial body such as a planet: the possibility of life on other worlds.

adj.
  1. Of or relating to the world: a world champion.
  2. Involving or extending throughout the entire world: a world crisis.


[Middle English, from Old English <TT>weorold</TT>; see <TT>wī-ro-</TT> in Indo-European roots.]
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
<CITE>The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.</CITE>
<CITE>Online Etymology Dictionary</CITE> - Cite This Source
world

O.E. woruld, worold "human existence, the affairs of life," also "the human race, mankind," a word peculiar to Gmc. languages (cf. O.S. werold, O.Fris. warld, Du. wereld, O.N. verold, O.H.G. weralt, Ger. Welt), with a literal sense of "age of man," from P.Gmc. *wer "man" (O.E. wer, still in werewolf; see virile) + *ald "age" (see old). Originally "life on earth, this world (as opposed to the afterlife)," sense extended to "the known world" (e.g. "Greatest Show on Earth"), then to "the physical world in the broadest sense, the universe" (c.1200). In O.E. gospels, the commonest word for "the physical world," was Middangeard (O.N. Midgard), lit. "the middle enclosure" (cf. yard), which is rooted in Gmc. cosmology. Gk. kosmos in its ecclesiastical sense of "world of people" sometimes was rendered in Goth. as manasežs, lit. "seed of man." The usual O.N. word was heimr, lit. "abode" (see home). Words for "world" in some other I.E. languages derive from the root for "bottom, foundation" (cf. Ir. domun, O.C.S. duno, related to Eng. deep); the Lith. word is pasaulis, from pa- "under" + saule "sun." Original sense in world without end, translating L. sęcula sęculorum, and in worldly. L. sęculum can mean both "age" and "world," as can Gk. aion. Worldwide is from 1632. World power in the geopolitical sense first recorded 1900. World-class is attested from 1950, originally of Olympic athletes.

<CITE>Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper</CITE>
<CITE>WordNet</CITE> - Cite This Source
world
adjective
1. involving the entire earth; not limited or provincial in scope; "global war"; "global monetary policy"; "neither national nor continental but planetary"; "a world crisis"; "of worldwide significance" [syn: global]
noun
1. everything that exists anywhere; "they study the evolution of the universe"; "the biggest tree in existence" [syn: universe]
2. people in general; especially a distinctive group of people with some shared interest; "the Western world"
3. all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you; "his world was shattered"; "we live in different worlds"; "for them demons were as much a part of reality as trees were"
4. the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on; "the Earth moves around the sun"; "he sailed around the world" [syn: Earth]
5. people in general considered as a whole; "he is a hero in the eyes of the public" [syn: populace]
6. a part of the earth that can be considered separately; "the outdoor world"; "the world of insects"
7. the concerns of this life as distinguished from heaven and the afterlife; "they consider the church to be independent of the world" [syn: worldly concern]
8. all of the living human inhabitants of the earth; "all the world loves a lover"; "she always used 'humankind' because 'mankind' seemed to slight the women"