terrestrial
pronunciation
How to pronounce terrestrial in British English:
UK [təˈrestriəl]
How to pronounce terrestrial in American English:
US [təˈrestriəl]
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- Adjective:
- of or relating to or inhabiting the land as opposed to the sea or air
- of or relating to or characteristic of the planet Earth or its inhabitants
- operating or living or growing on land
- concerned with the world or worldly matters
- of this earth
Word Origin
- terrestrial (adj.)
- late 14c., "of or pertaining to the earth," with + -al (1) + from Latin terrestris "earthly, of the earth, on land," from terra "earth" (see terrain). Originally opposed to celestial; natural history sense of "living on land" is attested from 1630s. The noun meaning "a human being, a mortal" is recorded from 1590s.
Example
- 1. Something similar happens when terrestrial ice melts .
- 2. The worm is the deepest living multicellular terrestrial organism on earth .
- 3. Leeches are annelids and there are fresh water , terrestrial , and marine leeches .
- 4. Residents who prefer more terrestrial abodes still have plenty of prosaic ways to weather storms .
- 5. She 's also interested in determining what conditions other than a liquid ocean might help initiate life on a terrestrial planet .