Terrestrial

How to spell terrestrial

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce terrestrial

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does terrestrial mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the planet Earth, especially as distinct from outer space.
2. adjectiveLiving or growing on land rather than in water, in the air, or in trees.

Terrestrial in a sentence

• The telescope can detect signals far beyond any terrestrial source.

• Frogs begin life in water before becoming largely terrestrial as adults.

• The documentary compared terrestrial weather patterns with conditions on Mars.

• The reserve protects both aquatic species and terrestrial mammals such as deer.

Where does terrestrial come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin terrestris, meaning 'of or belonging to the earth', which was built directly on terra, the ordinary Latin word for 'earth, land, or ground'. Latin speakers used terrestris to mark anything tied to solid land, in contrast to the sea or the sky, and that earthbound sense carried straight through. English adopted it in the late 1300s, at first in scientific and theological writing that needed to distinguish the earthly realm from the heavenly one. The same terra root still sits inside everyday relatives such as 'territory', 'terrain', and 'terrace', which is a useful clue to the double r near the start. The familiar word 'extraterrestrial' is simply this same word with 'extra-' ('beyond') attached, meaning 'beyond the earth'.

How the word is built

• terr- (from Latin terra: earth, land)
• -estr- (adjectival connector)
• -ial (adjective suffix)