Definition of EARTH

earth

Meanings

Plural: earths

Noun

  • the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
    • "the Earth moves around the sun"
  • the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface
    • "they dug into the earth outside the church"
  • the solid part of the earth's surface
    • "the earth shook for several minutes"
  • the abode of mortals (as contrasted with Heaven or Hell)
    • "it was hell on earth"
  • once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles)
  • the concerns of this life as distinguished from heaven and the afterlife
  • a connection between an electrical device and a large conducting body, such as the earth (which is taken to be at zero voltage)
  • Soil.
  • Any general rock-based material.
  • The ground, land (as opposed to the sky or sea).
  • 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).
  • The people on the globe.
  • Any planet similar to the Earth (our earth): an exoplanet viewed as another earth, or a potential one.
  • The human body.
  • The aforementioned soil- or rock-based material, considered one of the four or five classical elements.
  • Any of certain substances now known to be oxides of metal, which were distinguished by being infusible, and by insolubility in water.

Verb

  • hide in the earth like a hunted animal
  • connect to the earth
    • "earth the circuit"
  • To connect electrically to the earth.
  • To bury.
  • To hide, or cause to hide, in the earth; to chase into a burrow or den.
  • To burrow.

Name

  • Alternative letter-case form of Earth; our planet, third out from the Sun.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English erthe, from Old English eorþe, from Proto-West Germanic *erþu, from Proto-Germanic *erþō (“dirt, ground, earth”) (compare West Frisian ierde, German Low German Eerd, Dutch aarde, Dutch Low Saxon 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 (*éra, “earth”) in ἔραζε (éraze, “to the ground, to earth”), perhaps Tocharian B yare (“gravel”).
Probably unrelated, but of unknown etymology, is Old Armenian երկիր (erkir, “earth”). Likewise, the phonologically similar Proto-Semitic *ʔarṣ́- – whence Arabic أَرْض (ʔarḍ), Hebrew אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ) – is probably unrelated.

Synonyms

dry land, earthly concern, globe, ground, land, solid ground, terra firma, world, worldly concern

Scrabble Score: 8

earth is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
earth is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
earth is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 7

earth is a valid Words With Friends word