see also: Earth
Etymology
From Middle English erthe, from Old English eorþe, from Proto-West Germanic *erþu, from Proto-Germanic *erþō (compare Western Frisian ierde, Low German Eerd, Dutch aarde, nds-nl eerde, German Erde, Danish -, Swedish - and Norwegian jord), related to *erwô ("earth") (compare Old High German ero, perhaps Old Norse jǫrfi), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁er- (compare Ancient Greek *ἔρα, “earth” in ἔραζε ("to the ground, to earth"), perhaps Tocharian B yare.
Probably unrelated, and of unknown etymology, is Old Armenian երկիր (erkir, “earth”). Likewise, the phonologically similar sem-pro *ʔarṣ́- – whence Arabic أَرْض (ʔarḍ), Hebrew אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ) – is probably not related.
Pronunciation Proper nounAlternative case form of Earth; our planet, third out from the Sun. - The astronauts saw the earth from the porthole.
- 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC ↗, part I, page 193 ↗:
- We live in the flicker - may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling!
earth
(uncountable) Soil. - This is good earth for growing potatoes.
- (uncountable) Any general rock-based material.
- She sighed when the plane's wheels finally touched earth.
- The ground, land (as opposed to the sky or sea).
- Birds are of the sky, not of the earth.
- (British) A connection electrically to the earth ((US) ground); on equipment: a terminal connected in that manner.
- The lair or den (as a hole in the ground) of an animal such as a fox.
- A region of the planet; a land or country.
- Worldly things, as against spiritual ones.
- The world of our current life (as opposed to heaven or an afterlife).
- 1819 May, John Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1820, →OCLC ↗, stanza 5, page 116 ↗:
- "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,"—that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
- (metonymically) The people on the globe.
- Any planet similar to the Earth (our earth): an exoplanet viewed as another earth, or a potential one.
- New space telescopes may accelerate the search for other earths that may be out there.
- (archaic) The human body.
- (alchemy, philosophy and Taoism) The aforementioned soil- or rock-based material, considered one of the Classical element.
- (chemistry, obsolete) Any of certain substances now known to be oxides of metal, which were distinguished by being infusible, and by insolubility in water.
- French: terre, sol
- German: Erde, Land
- Italian: terra, suolo
- Portuguese: terra, solo
- Russian: земля́
- Spanish: tierra, suelo
- French: terre
- German: Grund, Erde, Land, Boden, Festland
- Italian: terra
- Portuguese: terra, chão
- Russian: земля́
- Spanish: terreno, tierra
- French: terrier
- German: Erdloch, Erdbau, Bau
- Italian: tana
- Portuguese: toca
- Russian: нора́
- Spanish: madriguera
earth (earths, present participle earthing; simple past and past participle earthed)
- (UK, transitive) To connect electrically to the earth.
- Synonyms: ground
- That noise is because the amplifier is not properly earthed.
- (transitive) To bury.
- 1745, [Edward Young], “Night the Ninth and Last. The Consolation. Containing, among Other Things, I. A Moral Survey of the Nocturnal Heavens. II. A Night-Address to the Deity. […]”, in The Complaint: Or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality, London: […] [Samuel Richardson] for A[ndrew] Millar […], and R[obert] Dodsley […], published 1750, →OCLC ↗, page 328 ↗:
- The Miſer earths his Treaſure; and the Thief, / Watching the Mole, half-beggars him ere Morn.
- (transitive) To hide, or cause to hide, in the earth; to chase into a burrow or den.
- (intransitive) To burrow.
- French: relier à la terre, mettre à la terre
- German: erden
- Italian: mettere a terra, collegare a terra
- Portuguese: aterrar
- Russian: заземля́ть
- Spanish: aterrar, conectar a tierra, poner a tierra
Earth
Etymology
From Middle English erthe, from Old English eorþe, from Proto-Germanic *erþō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁er-.
Pronunciation Proper nounThe third planet of the Solar System; the world upon which humans live. - The personification of the Earth or earth, (chiefly) as a fertile woman or (religion) goddess.
- (third planet of the Solar System) the Blue Planet, the globe, God's green earth, Sol III, Terra, the world
- (world inhabited by mankind) Middle Earth (archaic or pagan); Midgard (Germanic religion)
- (personification) See Mother Earth for female forms
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003
