earth

Meanings

1. 1
   name

   The planet that we live on, third from the Sun.

   The astronauts watched the Earth from space.

2. 2
   noun

   The soft material on the ground in which plants grow; soil.

   She dug a hole in the earth and planted the seed.

3. 3
   noun

   The solid ground, as opposed to the sky or sea.

   The pilot was relieved to feel the wheels touch the earth.

4. 4
   verb

   To connect an electrical device to the ground for safety.

   Make sure you earth the appliance before switching it on.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Earth is an Old English word whose senses “ground,” “soil,” and “our planet” are all recorded from that period, so it is unclear which came first. It is related to German Erde and Dutch aarde. The sense “underground lair of a fox or badger” appeared in the 14th century.

From Middle English erthe, from Old English eorþe, from Proto-West Germanic *erþu, from Proto-Germanic *erþō (“dirt, ground, earth”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁érteh₂ (“earth”). Cognates Cognate with Scots erd, yerd, yird, yirth (“earth, loam, mould, soil; ground”), Yola eard, eart, eord, eorth, erth (“earth”), North Frisian eerd, eerde, iarde, Iart, iir, jard, örd, Öört (“earth; world”), Saterland Frisian Idde, Äid, Äide (“earth; soil; ground”), West Frisian ierde (“earth; soil; ground”), Alemannic German Ëërde (“earth”), Bavarian Erd, Erdn (“world; soil; ground”), Central Franconian Ääd (“…

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary