See Also: earth(2)(dictionary)
earth(1)(dictionary)
Earth(medicine)
earth(dictionary)
Earth(encyclopedia)
down-to-earth(dictionary)
earth wax(medicine)
diatomaceous earth(encyclopedia)
Earth Summit(encyclopedia)
Earth (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)

earth(1) (iou)



earth noun1.

I. (The material of) the ground.
The ground considered as a surface, a solid stratum, or a place of burial. OE.
The soil as suitable for cultivation. OE.
The material which makes up the earth's surface; soil, mould, dust, clay. OE.
attrib.: J. Steinbeck He threw it down and beat it into the earth floor with his fist.
b. Hist. This as one of the four elements of the ancients. ME.
c. Clay as a material for pottery. (Cf. EARTHEN adjective 1b, EARTHENWARE.) ME-M17.
A particular substance having properties of stability, dryness, non-volatility, lack of taste or smell, etc., associated with the material of the ground; spec. in Chemistry, a metallic oxide with these properties. Usu. with specifying word. ME.
(The material of) the human body. ME.
Shelley The indignant spirit cast its mortal garment Among the slaindead earth.
The lair of a burrowing animal, esp. a fox. LME.
The ground regarded as having zero electrical potential; electrical connection with the ground, whether intentional or otherwise; an electrical terminal to which such a connection should be made; a conductor kept at zero potential (by making direct or indirect contact with the ground). Freq. attrib. M19.
earth connection, earth leakage, earth wire, etc.
II. The world.
The land and the sea, as distinguished from the sky; (also Earth) the planet on which humankind lives; the present abode of humankind as distinguished from heaven or hell as places of future existence. OE.
J. Scott Spreading..even to the utmost ends of the earth. R. C. Trench Earth is not a shadow of heaven, but heaven..a dream of earth. C. Sagan Tiny intrepid unmanned spacecraft from the world called Earth.
b. The inhabitants of the world collectively. LME.
Bible (AV): Genesis 11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and one speech.
c. A world resembling the earth; a (habitable) planet. L17.
The dry land as distinguished from the sea. OE.
A country, a territory. arch. OE.
the earth, a great or excessive amount, esp. of money. colloq. E20.
A. Christie Would it be terribly expensive?..She'd heard they charged the earth.
Phrases etc.: ALKALINE earth. back to earth = down to earth below. brown earth: see BROWN adjective. down to earth back to reality from fantasy. down-to-earth adjective plain-spoken, unpretentious; practical, realistic. fruits of the earth: see FRUIT noun 1. fuller's earth: see FULLER noun1. go the way of all the earth: see GO verb. go to earth (of a hunted animal) hide itself in a burrow; fig. go into hiding. green earth: see GREEN adjective. lay in the earth bury (a person). like nothing on earth: see NOTHING pronoun & noun. mother earth: see MOTHER noun1. move heaven and earth: see HEAVEN noun. on earth existing anywhere; (no person on earth, no place on earth, etc., no person, place, etc., at all; as an intensive: who on earth...?, what on earth...?, where on earth...?). rare earth: see RARE adjective1. red earth: see RED adjective. run to earth chase (a fox etc.) to its lair; fig. find after long searching. scorched earth policy: see SCORCH verb1. spaceship earth the world considered as a planet with finite resources common to all humankind. the ends of the earth, the end of the earth: see END noun 1. the salt of the earth: see SALT noun1. white earth: see WHITE adjective. yellow earth: see YELLOW adjective.
Comb.: earth almond = CHUFA; earth-ball a fungus, Scleroderma aurantium, forming spherical fruiting bodies on the ground beneath esp. birch trees; earth-born adjective (poet. & rhet.) (a) born by emerging from the earth; (b) born on earth, of earthly or mortal race; (c) (of a thing) arising from or produced by the earth; earth closet a lavatory in which earth is used to cover excreta; earth colour a pigment obtained from the earth, as an ochre or umber; earthfast adjective fixed in the ground; earth god, earth goddess: of the earth, concerned with fertility and usu. the underworld; earth house an underground dwelling; fig. the grave; earth hunger a strong desire to own or control land; earth-light (a) = earth-shine below; (b) a light of unknown origin seen apparently emerging from the ground; earth-man (a) a man whose interest lies in the material rather than the spiritual world; (b) (chiefly Science Fiction) a man living on or native to the planet Earth; earth mother a spirit or being symbolizing the earth; fig. a sensual and maternal woman; earth-mover a vehicle or machine designed for earth-moving; earth-moving the excavation of large quantities of soil; earth-nut (any of various plants bearing) an edible roundish tuber or other underground body; spec. (a) = pignut (a) s.v. PIG noun1; (b) = PEANUT noun 1; earth pig = AARDVARK; earth pillar Geology a free-standing column of earth, usu. one capped by a stone protecting the top from erosion; earthquake a (violent) movement or shaking of the earth's surface usu. due to geological forces or volcanic action; fig. a major social etc. disturbance; earth-rise the apparent rise of the earth over the moon's horizon as seen from the moon; earth science(s): dealing with the various aspects of the physical constitution of the earth, as geology, geophysics, oceanography, meteorology, etc.; earth-shaking, earth-shattering adjectives (fig.) extremely important, momentous; having a devastating effect; earthshine the sun's light reflected from the earth, esp. that which illuminates the moon; earth-soul the supposed collective consciousness of the earth or humankind; earth-star any fungus of the genus Geastrum, the fruiting bodies of which grow on the ground and split into lobes which fold back giving a star-shaped structure; esp. G. triplex, found in woodland; earth station a transmitting station which retransmits signals received from satellites; an aerial for receiving such signals; earth tremor: see TREMOR noun 3; earth-wax = OZOCERITE; earth-woman (chiefly Science Fiction) a woman living on or native to the planet Earth; earthwork an embankment, fortification, etc., made of earth; the process of excavation or building in earth; earthworm (a) an oligochaete worm which burrows in the soil and has a soft moist reddish body; (b) fig. an abject or contemptible person.
earthlike adjective (a) resembling (that of) the planet earth; (b) resembling earth or soil: L19.