Earth

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ɜːθ/
• US IPA: /ɝθ/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)θ

Origin

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 *h₁er- (compare Ancient Greek *ἔρα in ἔραζε ("on the ground"), perhaps Tocharian B yare 'gravel'; probably unrelated though of unknown etymology: Old Armenian երկիր ("earth")). The phonologically similar Proto-Semitic *ʾarṣ́- and its reflexes (Arabic أَرْضٌ, Hebrew אֶרֶץ) are probably not related.

Full definition of earth

Proper noun

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

Usage notes

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

Noun

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).
• 2013-06-07, David Simpson, Fantasy of navigation, Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.
4. Birds are of the sky, not of the earth.
5. (British) A connection electrically to the earth (US ground); on equipment: a terminal connected in that manner.
6. A fox's home or lair.
7. 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.
8. (alchemy) One of the four basic elements.
9. (India and Japan) One of the five basic elements.
10. (Taoism) One of the five basic elements.

Derived terms

Verb

1. (British) To connect electrically to the earth.That noise is because the amplifier is not properly earthed.
2. To bury.
• YoungThe miser earths his treasure, and the thief,
  Watching the mole, half beggars him ere noon.
3. (transitive) To hide, or cause to hide, in the earth; to chase into a burrow or den.
• DrydenThe fox is earthed.
4. To burrow.

Synonyms

• (to connect electrically to the earth) US ground

Derived terms

• unearth

Anagrams

• hater, heart, rathe, rehat, Terah