earthling
UK /ˈɜːθlɪŋ/ · US /ˈɝθlɪŋ/ noun
Forms earthlings
- noun (obsolete except historical) One who tills the earth; a farmer, a husbandman, a ploughman.
- noun An inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of heaven. [from 16th c.]
- noun (chiefly science fiction) An inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet; specifically, a sentient member of any species native to Earth. [from 20th c.]
- noun (archaic) A person who is materialistic or worldly; a worldling. [from 17th c.]
Synonyms
Earthican Tellurian Terran Earthan Earther Earthian Earthie Earthlet Earthperson Earthsider Gaian Terrestrial Terrestrian earthman worldling
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English erthling (“farmer, ploughman”) [and other forms] (in glossaries), from Old English ierþling, eorþling (“farmer, husbandman, ploughman”) [and other forms], from eorþe (“ground; dirt; planet Earth”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁er- (“earth”)) + -ling (suffix forming personal nouns). The English word is analysable as earth + -ling.
See Earthling.
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”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun An inhabitant of the earth; a mortal.
Etymology [Earth + -ling.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “earthling”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details