eorþe

See also: eorthe and eorðe

Middle English

Noun

eorþe

1. alternative form of erthe (“earth”)

Old English

Alternative forms

• earþe — Northumbrian
• iorþe — Kentish
• eorþ, yrþ, eorðe, eorþo, eorþu
• eorþæ, heorþe, heordæ, eorda, eordæ, eorða

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *erþu, from Proto-Germanic *erþō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈe͜or.θe/, [ˈe͜orˠ.ðe]

Noun

eorþe f

1. ground
   • 10th century, The Seafarer:

     Nāp nihtsċūa, norþan snīwde, hrīm hrusan bond, hæġl fēol on eorþan, corna caldast.

     Nightshade darkened, it snowed from the north, frost bound the ground, hail fell on earth, the coldest of corns.

2. dirt
3. the planet Earth
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexameron:

     Sēo eorðe ne liġþ on nānum þinge, ac hēo stent on lofte.

     The Earth isn't on top of anything: it floats in the air.

Usage notes

• The meaning "ground, dirt" rarely uses the definite article. The meaning "the Earth" uses the definite article most of the time, though there are a fair number of exceptions; in this it is like sunne (“sun”), mōna (“moon”), and heofon (“sky”).

Declension

Weak n-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	eorþe	eorþan
accusative	eorþan	eorþan
genitive	eorþan	eorþena
dative	eorþan	eorþum

Synonyms

• folde
• hruse

Derived terms

• eorþæppel (“cucumber”)
• eorþbeofung (“earthquake”)
• eorþberġe (“strawberry”)
• eorþcræft (“geometry”)
• eorþlīċ (“earthly”)
• eorþtyrewa (“asphalt”)
• ierþen (“of dirt”)
• ierþling (“farmer”)

Descendants

• Middle English: erthe, eerthe, eorthe, eorþe, ereth, erth, erþ, erþe, irthe, yrþe, orþe, ȝorthe, horþe, horðe, urþe, urthe, hurde, erde, earþe, erðe, eorðe, eorth, herðe (Early Middle English), oerþe, oerþ (Herebert)
  • English: earth; Earth
  • Middle Scots: erd, erde, ȝerd, ȝeird (influenced by erd)
    • Scots: erd, yerd, yird, yirth; Yird
  • Yola: erth, eart, eard, eord, eorth