late 14c., "soil of the earth; cultivated land;" also "a piece of land forming part of a clergyman's benefice," from Old French glebe, from Latin gleba, glaeba "clod, lump of earth," possibly from a PIE *glem- or *glom-, which might mean "contain, embrace" or "ball," or might be two different roots. Possible cognates include Old English clamm "a tie, fetter;" Old High German klamma "trap, gorge;" Old Irish glomar "gag, curb;" Latin globus "sphere," gleba, glaeba "clod, lump of earth;" Old English clyppan "to embrace;" Lithuanian glėbys "armful," globti "to embrace, support."

1670s, "spherical," from globe + -al (1). Meaning "worldwide, universal, pertaining to the whole globe of the earth" is from 1892, from a sense development in French. Global village first attested 1960, popularized, if not coined, by Canadian educator Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980).

Postliterate man's electronic media contract the world to a village or tribe where everything happens to everyone at the same time: everyone knows about, and therefore participates in, everything that is happening the minute it happens. Television gives this quality of simultaneity to events in the global village. [Carpenter & McLuhan, "Explorations in Communication," 1960]

"spherical," 1847, from Latin globatus, from globus "round mass, sphere, ball" (see globe (n.)). Globated in the same sense is attested from 1727.

also globetrotter, "world traveler," especially one who goes from country to country around the world with the object of covering ground or setting records, 1871, from globe + agent noun from trot (v.). As a verb, globetrot is recorded from 1883. Related: Globe-trotting.

"spherical, like or resembling a sphere," early 15c., "large and formless," from Latin globosus "round as a ball," from globus "round mass, sphere, ball" (see globe (n.)). Related: Globosity.

"globe-shaped, round, spherical and compact," 1650s, from French globulaire or Medieval Latin globularis, or directly from Latin globus "round mass, sphere, ball" (see globe (n.)). Earlier in same sense was globical (1610s). Astronomical globular cluster attested from 1806.

"small, spherical body; little globe or sphere," 1660s, from French globule, from Latin globulus "a little ball," diminutive of globus "round mass, sphere, ball" (see globe (n.)).