*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of terra

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ters- Proto-Indo-European *ters-eh₂ Proto-Italic *tersā Latin terrabor. English terra Borrowed from Latin terra.

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INDEPENDENT SOURCE LIBRARY

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The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

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 ↗
noun

Earth, soil, land, or ground as a physical surface. · The material world as opposed to the heavens. · A continent or large landmass, especially on another planet or moon; e.g. Arabia Terra or Aphrodite Terra. · A lunar highland or mountainous region with relatively high albedo; e.g. Terra Nivium.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ters- Proto-Indo-European *ters-eh₂ Proto-Italic *tersā Latin terrabor. English terra Borrowed from Latin terra.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:terra",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ters-\nProto-Indo-European *ters-eh₂\nProto-Italic *tersā\nLatin terrabor.\nEnglish terra\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*ters-eh₂\", \"gloss\" : \"dry land\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"dry\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*ters-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*tersā\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"terra\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"terra\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"terra\">\nBorrowed from Latin terra."
    },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
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    ],
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      "*tersā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/tersā"
    ],
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      "terra",
      "terra#Latin"
    ],
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      "terra#Latin"
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  "references": [],
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  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Earth, soil, land, or ground as a physical surface.",
        "The material world as opposed to the heavens.",
        "A continent or large landmass, especially on another planet or moon; e.g. Arabia Terra or Aphrodite Terra.",
        "A lunar highland or mountainous region with relatively high albedo; e.g. Terra Nivium."
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "archaic"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 193711
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

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Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dGVycmE