Etymology of earth

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

verb

To connect electrically to the earth. · To bury. · To hide, or cause to hide, in the earth; to chase into a burrow or den. · To burrow.

noun

Soil. · Any general rock-based material. · The ground, land (as opposed to the sky or sea). · A connection electrically to the earth ((US) ground); on equipment: a terminal connected in that manner.

name

Alternative letter-case form of Earth (“the third planet of the Solar System, upon which humans live”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁er-der. Proto-Germanic *erþō Proto-West Germanic *erþu Old English eorþe Middle English erthe English earth 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 (“earth”), Cimbrian èerda (“earth”), Dutch aard, aarde (“earth”), German Erde (“earth; soil; ground; world”), German Low German Eer (“earth”), Limburgish eerd (“earth”), Luxembourgish Äerd (“earth; soil”), Vilamovian Ād (“earth”), Yiddish ערד (erd, “earth; soil”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish jord (“earth”), Faroese jørð (“earth”), Icelandic jörð (“earth”), Norn yurn (“the earth”), Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐌰 (airþa, “earth”); also Latin ōra (“border, edge, rim”), Breton erv (“ridge between furrows”), Welsh erw (“acre”), Ancient Greek ἔραζε (éraze, “to the ground”), Lithuanian erdvė (“expanse, space”), Albanian varr, vorr (“grave”), Tocharian B āre (“dust, loose earth”), Sanskrit उर्वरा (urvarā, “fertile soil, field yielding crops”), Hittite 𒅕𒄩𒀸 (er-ḫa-aš /⁠erḫaš⁠/, “border, boundary, line”). Probably unrelated, but of unknown etymology, is Old Armenian երկիր (erkir, “earth”). Likewise, the phonologically similar Proto-Semitic *ʔarṣ́- – whence Arabic أَرْض (ʔarḍ), Hebrew אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ) – is probably unrelated.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionertheenm
Inherited-form mentioneorþeang
Inherited-form mention*erþugmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*erþōgem-pro
Inherited-form mention*h₁er-ine-pro
Cognate mentionerdsco
Cognate mentioneardyol
Cognate mentioneerdfrr
Cognate mentionIddestq
Cognate mentionierdefy · earth; soil; ground
Cognate mentionËërdegsw · earth
Cognate mentionErdbar
Cognate mentionÄädgmw-cfr · earth
Cognate mentionèerdacim · earth
Cognate mentionaardnl
Cognate mentionErdede · earth; soil; ground; world
Cognate mentioneerdli · earth
Cognate mentionÄerdlb · earth; soil
Cognate mentionĀdwym · earth
Cognate mentionערדyi · earth; soil
Cognate mentionjørðfo · earth
Cognate mentionjörðis · earth
Cognate mentionyurnnrn · the earth
Cognate mention𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐌰got · earth
Cognate mentionōrala · border, edge, rim
Cognate mentionervbr · ridge between furrows
Cognate mentionerwcy · acre
Cognate mentionἔραζεgrc · to the ground
Cognate mentionerdvėlt · expanse, space
Cognate mentionvarrsq
Cognate mentionāretxb · dust, loose earth
Cognate mentionउर्वराsa · fertile soil, field yielding crops
Cognate mention𒅕𒄩𒀸hit · border, boundary, line
Cognate mention*ʔarṣ́-sem-pro

This page abbreviates 9 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:erthe<id:earth>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁er-der.\nProto-Germanic *erþō\nProto-West Germanic *erþu\nOld English eorþe\nMiddle English erthe\nEnglish earth\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"earth\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁er-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*erþō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*erþu\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"eorþe\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"erthe\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"earth\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"earth\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "erthe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English erthe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "eorþe"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English eorþe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*erþu"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *erþu"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*erþō",
        "4": "",
        "5": "dirt, ground, earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *erþō (“dirt, ground, earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁er-",
        "4": "*h₁érteh₂",
        "5": "earth",
        "id": "earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₁érteh₂ (“earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "erd"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots erd"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yol",
        "2": "eard"
      },
      "expansion": "Yola eard"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "eerd"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian eerd"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Idde"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Idde"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "ierde",
        "t": "earth; soil; ground"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian ierde (“earth; soil; ground”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gsw",
        "2": "Ëërde",
        "t": "earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Alemannic German Ëërde (“earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bar",
        "2": "Erd"
      },
      "expansion": "Bavarian Erd"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmw-cfr",
        "2": "Ääd",
        "t": "earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Central Franconian Ääd (“earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cim",
        "2": "èerda",
        "t": "earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Cimbrian èerda (“earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "aard"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch aard"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Erde",
        "t": "earth; soil; ground; world"
      },
      "expansion": "German Erde (“earth; soil; ground; world”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Eer",
        "t": "earth"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German Eer (“earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "li",
        "2": "eerd",
        "t": "earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Limburgish eerd (“earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "Äerd",
        "t": "earth; soil"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish Äerd (“earth; soil”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "wym",
        "2": "Ād",
        "t": "earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Vilamovian Ād (“earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "ערד",
        "t": "earth; soil"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish ערד (erd, “earth; soil”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da,nb,nn,sv",
        "2": "jord",
        "t": "earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish jord (“earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "jørð",
        "t": "earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese jørð (“earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "jörð",
        "t": "earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic jörð (“earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nrn",
        "2": "yurn",
        "t": "the earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Norn yurn (“the earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐌰",
        "t": "earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐌰 (airþa, “earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "ōra",
        "t": "border, edge, rim"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin ōra (“border, edge, rim”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "br",
        "2": "erv",
        "t": "ridge between furrows"
      },
      "expansion": "Breton erv (“ridge between furrows”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "erw",
        "t": "acre"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh erw (“acre”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "ἔραζε",
        "t": "to the ground"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ἔραζε (éraze, “to the ground”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lt",
        "2": "erdvė",
        "t": "expanse, space"
      },
      "expansion": "Lithuanian erdvė (“expanse, space”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "varr"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian varr"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "txb",
        "2": "āre",
        "t": "dust, loose earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Tocharian B āre (“dust, loose earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "उर्वरा",
        "t": "fertile soil, field yielding crops"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit उर्वरा (urvarā, “fertile soil, field yielding crops”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "hit",
        "2": "𒅕𒄩𒀸",
        "tr": "er-ḫa-aš",
        "ts": "erḫaš",
        "t": "border, boundary, line"
      },
      "expansion": "Hittite 𒅕𒄩𒀸 (er-ḫa-aš /⁠erḫaš⁠/, “border, boundary, line”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "noncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "xcl",
        "2": "երկիր",
        "t": "earth"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Armenian երկիր (erkir, “earth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sem-pro",
        "2": "*ʔarṣ́-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Semitic *ʔarṣ́-"
    },
    {
      "name": "noncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ar",
        "2": "أَرْض"
      },
      "expansion": "Arabic أَرْض (ʔarḍ)"
    },
    {
      "name": "noncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "he",
        "2": "אֶרֶץ",
        "tr": "ʾereṣ"
      },
      "expansion": "Hebrew אֶרֶץ (ʾereṣ)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:erthe<id:earth>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁er-der.\nProto-Germanic *erþō\nProto-West Germanic *erþu\nOld English eorþe\nMiddle English erthe\nEnglish earth"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*h₁er-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁er-#Proto-Indo-European:_earth"
    ],
    [
      "*erþō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/erþō"
    ],
    [
      "*erþu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/erþu"
    ],
    [
      "eorþe",
      "eorþe#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "erthe",
      "erthe#Middle_English:_earth"
    ],
    [
      "erthe",
      "erthe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "eorþe",
      "eorþe#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*erþu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/erþu"
    ],
    [
      "*erþō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/erþō"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁érteh₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁er-#Proto-Indo-European:_earth"
    ],
    [
      "erd",
      "erd#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "yerd",
      "yerd#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "yird",
      "yird#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "yirth",
      "yirth#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "eard",
      "eard#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "eart",
      "eart#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "eord",
      "eord#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "eorth",
      "eorth#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "erth",
      "erth#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "eerd",
      "eerd#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "eerde",
      "eerde#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "iarde",
      "iarde#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Iart",
      "Iart#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "iir",
      "iir#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "jard",
      "jard#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "örd",
      "örd#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Öört",
      "Öört#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Idde",
      "Idde#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Äid",
      "Äid#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Äide",
      "Äide#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "ierde",
      "ierde#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Ëërde",
      "Ëërde#Alemannic_German"
    ],
    [
      "Erd",
      "Erd#Bavarian"
    ],
    [
      "Erdn",
      "Erdn#Bavarian"
    ],
    [
      "Ääd",
      "Ääd#Central_Franconian"
    ],
    [
      "èerda",
      "èerda#Cimbrian"
    ],
    [
      "aard",
      "aard#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "aarde",
      "aarde#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Erde",
      "Erde#German"
    ],
    [
      "Eer",
      "Eer#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "eerd",
      "eerd#Limburgish"
    ],
    [
      "Äerd",
      "Äerd#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "Ād",
      "Ād#Vilamovian"
    ],
    [
      "ערד",
      "ערד#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "Danish",
      "jord#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "jord#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "jord#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "jord",
      "jord#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "jørð",
      "jørð#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "jörð",
      "jörð#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "yurn",
      "yurn#Norn"
    ],
    [
      "𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐌰",
      "𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐌰#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "ōra",
      "ora#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "erv",
      "erv#Breton"
    ],
    [
      "erw",
      "erw#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "ἔραζε",
      "ἔραζε#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "erdvė",
      "erdvė#Lithuanian"
    ],
    [
      "varr",
      "varr#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "vorr",
      "vorr#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "āre",
      "āre#Tocharian_B"
    ],
    [
      "उर्वरा",
      "उर्वरा#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "𒅕𒄩𒀸",
      "𒅕𒄩𒀸#Hittite"
    ],
    [
      "երկիր",
      "երկիր#Old_Armenian"
    ],
    [
      "*ʔarṣ́-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ʔarṣ́-"
    ],
    [
      "أَرْض",
      "أرض#Arabic"
    ],
    [
      "אֶרֶץ",
      "ארץ#Hebrew"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To connect electrically to the earth.",
        "To bury.",
        "To hide, or cause to hide, in the earth; to chase into a burrow or den.",
        "To burrow."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "transitive",
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "28df3ea936141cf87001c0ab9217b059c18f2381eeb48a121188ae44abc2e4ea",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 17762
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Soil.",
        "Any general rock-based material.",
        "The ground, land (as opposed to the sky or sea).",
        "A connection electrically to the earth ((US) ground); on equipment: a terminal connected in that manner."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "countable",
        "UK"
      ],
      "recordId": "aa0e7ba910264b17cf5623e3cc2d76c94c5c5ca60a51b351718c672da8bee5d9",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 17761
    },
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative letter-case form of Earth (“the third planet of the Solar System, upon which humans live”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of"
      ],
      "recordId": "ac0e57dbcff95897d8c86efb832012417f6736144af46d0604332c858c0f748b",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2d46e575de2e557c9bd6505fa6b0069ce337eaa2d8a268b1a08ac4f62b97b664",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 17760
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 9,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

The source etymologies

Unnumbered source etymology

Relationships mentioned by the source

Where this record stops

Source and snapshot