earthling
/ˈɝθlɪŋ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.19 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of heaven.
noun
An inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet; specifically, a sentient member of any species native to Earth.
noun
One who tills the earth; a farmer, a husbandman, a ploughman.
noun
Alternative letter-case form of Earthling.
Example Sentences
- "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?"
- "Eoꞃðlinᵹ [Eorthling], is a Husbandman, or Earthling."
- "And we have not imagination enough to believe, that either the Danish boors, who were earthlings (yrthlingas) in the country, or the Danish soldiers, who, as history tells us, were dandies at the court of King Canute, could, in the brief space of twenty years, have so overlaid or interlarded the pure Anglo-Saxon with their provincialisms, as to give it a new character, and thus form a new period in its history, as was afterwards done by the Normans."
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɝθlɪŋ/
- British English: /ˈɜːθlɪŋ/