earthly

What it means

1. Relating to the earth or this world, as opposed to heaven or the heavens.

   The Garden of Earthly Delights is full of earthly joys alongside grotesqueries, monstrosities, and torture.

   3 more examples

   (For many walke, of whome I haue told you often, and now tell you euen weeping, that they are the enemies of the crosse of Christ: / Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glorie is in their shame, who minde earthly things.)

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Philippians 3:18–19

   The shadows of earth and earthly things, resting omen-like upon the waters, alone shewed which was the home and which the mirror of the celestial host.

   [1832], L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Enchantress”, in Heath’s Book of Beauty. M.DCCC.XXXIII. […], London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, […] [for Charles Heath], →OCLC, pages 1–2

   Where it had been left hundreds of years ago, / Extract from the depth, is but a setting sun, / Paradise is scarce in this light that won’t shine, / What is our earthly task, but a worthy design?

   1999, Lætitia Sadier, “The Free Design”, in Tim Gane (music), Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night, performed by Stereolab

   Synonyms: worldly, worldy, terrestrial, material, mundane, sublunar, sublunary, profane · Antonyms: heavenly, celestial, otherworldly, ethereal, empyreal, empyrean, etheric, transcendental

2. obsoleteMade of earth; earthy.

   We have this […] treasure in frail, brittle, and earthly vessels.

   1533, John Frith, An Other Boke against Rastel

3. informalUsed in negative contructions for emphasis.

   There is no earthly way, I mean no way on earth, that I will ever do that.

   2 more examples

   The pressures of politics and war seem remote on this lovely stretch of California coastline, but last week there was no earthly way to avoid them.

   1971 April 4, Robert B. Semple Jr., “The Nation”, in The New York Times, page E1

   In fiscal terms, there’s no earthly reason for Congress to be stingy with Social Security’s administrative budget.

   2016 June 10, Michael Hitzlik, “Column: Congress continues its stealth assault on Social Security’s customer service”, in Los Angeles Times

In a sentence

The Garden of Earthly Delights is full of earthly joys alongside grotesqueries, monstrosities, and torture.

Where it comes from

1. Old Englisheorþlīċ
2. Middle Englisherthely
3. Englishearthly

From Middle English erthely, erthlich, ierðlich, from Old English eorþlīċ, corresponding to earth + -ly. Cognate with Old Norse jarðligr (“earthly”).