earth

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Contents

English[edit]

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Etymology[edit]

From Middle English erthe, from Old English eorþe (“earth, ground, soil, dry land”), from Proto-Germanic *erþō (“earth, ground, soil”) (compare West Frisian ierde, Low German Er(de)/Ir(de), Dutch aarde, German Erde, Danish jord), related to *erwōn 'earth' (compare Old High German ero, perhaps Old Norse jǫrfi 'gravel'), from Proto-Indo-European *er- (compare Ancient Greek *érā in éraze 'on the ground', perhaps Tocharian B yare 'gravel'; probably unrelated though of unknown etymology: Old Armenian երկիր (erkir, “earth”)).

Pronunciation[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

the earth

  1. Our planet, third out from the Sun; see main entry Earth.
    The astronauts saw the earth from the porthole.

Usage notes[edit]

  • The word earth is capitalized to Earth when used in context with other celestial bodies.

Translations[edit]

our planet, third out from the Sun — see Earth

Noun[edit]

Earth as soil (1)

earth (countable and uncountable; plural earths)

  1. (uncountable) Soil.
    This is good earth for growing potatoes.
  2. (uncountable) Any general rock-based material.
    She sighed when the plane's wheels finally touched earth.
  3. The ground, land (as opposed to the sky or sea).
    Birds are of the sky, not of the earth.
  4. (UK) A connection electrically to the earth ((US) ground); on equipment: a terminal connected in that manner.
  5. A fox's home or lair.
  6. The world of our current life (as opposed to heaven or an afterlife).
    • 1819, John Keats, "Ode on a Grecian Urn"
      "Beauty is truth, truth beauty," - that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
  7. (alchemy) One of the four basic elements.
  8. (India and Japan) One of the five basic elements.
  9. (Taoism) One of the five basic elements.

Derived terms[edit]

terms derived from "earth"

Translations[edit]

soil
any general rock-based material
the ground, land
electrical connection
fox's lair
world of our current life, as opposed to afterlife
one of the four basic elements
one of the five basic elements
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

See also[edit]

Verb[edit]

earth (third-person singular simple present earths, present participle earthing, simple past and past participle earthed)

  1. (UK) To connect electrically to the earth.
    That noise is because the amplifier is not properly earthed.
  2. To bury.
  3. To burrow.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Tickell to this entry?)

Synonyms[edit]

  • (to connect electrically to the earth): (US) ground

Translations[edit]

connect electrically to the earth
to bury

Derived terms[edit]


Statistics[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

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