earth English · revision 3354

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725 (Beowulf)|origins=gem-pro *erþō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ɜːθ/, US /ɝːθ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|erthe]], [[inh|ang|eorþe|t=ground, soil, dry land; the world]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[gem-pro|*erþō]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Old Saxon ertha, Old Norse [[m|non|jǫrð]], Dutch [[m|nl|aarde]], German [[m|de|Erde]] and Gothic airþa.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) It is perhaps from an extended form of [[ine-pro|*er-|t=earth, ground]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) a base also found in Old High German ero “earth”, Greek [[m|grc|ἔραζε|tr=éraze|t=to the ground]] and Welsh erw “field”.^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) The verb is from the noun.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English eorþe: about 725, in ''Beowulf'',^(Barnhart 1988) and Middle English erthe in 1137.^(Barnhart 1988) Word Origins notes that the senses “the ground”, “our planet” and “soil” are all found in Old English, so it is impossible to tell which came first.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old English the word, along with middangeard, meant the material world, the home of humans, as opposed to the heavens or the underworld.^(Etymonline) The earth considered as a planet is from about 1400.^(Etymonline) The earth as a place of burial is from about 1205,^(OED 1989) and the hole of a burrowing animal such as a fox from 1575.^(OED 1989) In old chemistry an earth was a class of substance, from 1728,^(Etymonline) and in electricity the ground as part of a circuit is from 1773.^(OED 1989) The verb meant “to bury a corpse” from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) “to heap earth over plants” from 1693,^(OED 1989) and “to drive a fox to its earth” from 1575.^(OED 1989) ''Earth-mover'' is from 1940.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – ground, soil, the world.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1205 – a place of burial.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – verb, to bury.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – the planet.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1575 – a fox's earth.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1728 – in chemistry.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1773 – electrical earth.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1940 – ''earth-mover''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[planet]] on which we live, third from the Sun.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The land surface of the world, as opposed to sea or sky.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # [[soil|alt=Soil]] or dirt.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # The hole or den of an animal such as a fox.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(British)'' The ground as part of an electrical circuit; a connection to it.^(OED 1989)

+ # The world of human life, as opposed to heaven or hell.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cover plants with soil.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To chase an animal into its burrow.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(British)'' To connect an electrical circuit to the ground.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[earthlike]]

+ * [[unearth]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[earthen]]

+ * [[earthly]]

+ * [[earthquake]]

+ * [[earthworm]]

+ * [[aardvark]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ An unrelated Old English ierþ, “a ploughing”, related to the verb [[ear]] “to plough”, survived as ''earth'' in dialect.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989) ''Aardvark'' contains the Dutch cognate aarde.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}