Earthling
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See also: earthling
English
Etymology
From earth + -ling (suffix indicating a resident); earth is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₁er- (“earth”). Old English ierþling (“farmer, husbandman, ploughman”, literally “one of the earth”) is formed from the same roots but generally did not outlive Old English; all modern uses are historical: see earthling.
Compare also human, which is derived from Latin humus (“ground, soil”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɜːθlɪŋ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɝθlɪŋ/
Audio (AU) (file) - Hyphenation: Earth‧ling
Noun
Earthling (plural Earthlings)
- An inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of heaven.
- 1593, Tho[mas] Nashe, Christs Teares Over Ierusalem. , London: Iames Roberts, and are to be solde by Andrewe Wise, , →OCLC, folio 60, verso:
- VVe (of all earthlings) are Gods vtmoſt ſubiects, the laſt (in a manner) that he bought to his obedience: ſhal we then forgette that vvee are any ſubiects of hys, becauſe (as amongſt his Angels) he is not viſibly conuerſant amongſt vs?
- (chiefly science fiction) An inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet; specifically, a sentient member of any species native to Earth.
- Synonyms: (nonstandard, humorous, science fiction) Earthican, Tellurian, Terran; see also Thesaurus:Earthling
- Antonyms: alien, extraterrestrial; see also Thesaurus:extraterrestrial
- (archaic) A person who is materialistic or worldly; a worldling.
Alternative forms
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
Coordinate terms
- halfling
- Mercurian · Venusian · Lunarian · Marsling, marsling, Martian · Jovian, Jupiterian · Saturnian · Uranian · Neptunian · Plutonian
Translations
inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of heaven
inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
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person who is materialistic or worldly
References
- ^ “earthling, n.2”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, September 2020; “earthling, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Further reading
Earthling on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - James A. H. Murray [et al.], editors (1884–1928), “Earthling”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 13, column 3.
