Meanings
earthling1
plural earthlings
- obsolete except historicalOne who tills the earth; a farmer, a husbandman, a ploughman.
Eoꞃðlinᵹ [Eorthling], is a Husbandman, or Earthling.
1714, John Fortescue-Aland [i.e., John Fortescue Aland, 1st Baron Fortescue of Credan], “Hereafter is Schewyd, What of the Kyngs Lyvelood Gevyn Away, may Best be Takyn Ageyne”, in John Fortescue, The Difference between an Absolute and a Limited Monarchy; as is More Particularly Regards the English Constitution. […], London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, […], for E. Parker […], and T. Ward […], →OCLC, footnote a, page 791 more example
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.
1838 July, [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow], “Art. IV.—1. A Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon Language, […] [book review]”, in The North American Review, volume XLVII, number C, Boston, Mass.: Otis, Broaders, & Co., […], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 94
earthling2
plural earthlings
- Alternative letter-case form of Earthling.
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?
1593, Tho[mas] Nashe, Christs Teares Over Ierusalem. […], London: […] Iames Roberts, and are to be solde by Andrewe Wise, […], →OCLC, folio 60, verso
Earthling3
plural Earthlings · alternative earthling
- An inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of heaven.
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?
1593, Tho[mas] Nashe, Christs Teares Over Ierusalem. […], London: […] Iames Roberts, and are to be solde by Andrewe Wise, […], →OCLC, folio 60, verso - literatureAn inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet; specifically, a sentient member of any species native to Earth.
Synonyms: Earthican, Tellurian, Terran, Earthan, Earther, Earthian, Earthican, Earthie · Antonyms: alien, extraterrestrial, alien, extraterrestrial, ET, little green man, LGM, xenomorph
- archaicA person who is materialistic or worldly; a worldling.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet; specifically, a sentient member of any species native to Earth.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
earthling · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁er-“earth”
- Old Englishierþling
- Middle Englisherthling“farmer, ploughman”
- Englishearthling
From Middle English erthling (“farmer, ploughman”) [and other forms] (in glossaries), from Old English ierþling, eorþling (“farmer, husbandman, ploughman”) [and other forms], from eorþe (“ground; dirt; planet Earth”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁er- (“earth”)) + -ling (suffix forming personal nouns). The English word is analysable as earth + -ling.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Earthling · noun
- Latinhumus“ground, soil”
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁er-“earth”
- EnglishEarthling
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”).
More words from Proto-Indo-European, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic أَرْضِيّ
- أَرْضِيّ (ʔarḍiyy)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Basque lurtar
- lurtarinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Bulgarian земля́нин, жи́тел на Земя́та
- земля́нин (zemljánin)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- жи́тел на Земя́та (žítel na Zemjáta)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Catalan terrícola
- terrícolainhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Chinese Mandarin 地球人
- 地球人 (dìqiúrén)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Czech Pozemšťan
- Pozemšťaninhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Danish jordbo
- jordboinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Dutch aardeling, aardbewoner
- aardelinginhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- aardbewonerinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- aardbewoonsterinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Esperanto terano
- teranoinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Estonian maalased
- maalasedinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Finnish Maan asukas
- Maan asukasinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
French terrien, terrienne
- terrieninhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- terrienneinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
German Erdling, Terraner
- Erdlinginhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- Terranerinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- Terranerininhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Greek γήινος
- γήινος (gíinos)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Hungarian földlakó
- földlakóinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Icelandic jarðarbúi
- jarðarbúiinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Indonesian makhluk bumi, penduduk bumi
- makhluk bumiinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- penduduk bumiinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Italian terrestre
- terrestreinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Japanese 地球人
- 地球人 (chikyūjin)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Korean 지구인
- 지구인 (jigu'in)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Lithuanian žemiẽtis, žemiẽtė
- žemiẽtisinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- žemiẽtėinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Malay makhluk bumi, orang bumi
- makhluk bumiinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- orang bumiinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- penduduk bumiinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Polish Ziemianin, Ziemianka
- Ziemianininhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- Ziemiankainhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Portuguese terráqueo, terrestre
- terráqueoinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- terrestreinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Romanian pământean, pământeană
- pământeaninhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- pământeanăinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Russian земля́нин, жи́тель Земли́
- земля́нин (zemljánin)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- жи́тель Земли́ (žítelʹ Zemlí)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- жи́тельница Земли́ (žítelʹnica Zemlí)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- терра́нец (terránec)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Slovak Pozemšťan
- Pozemšťaninhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Spanish terrenal, terrestre
- terrenalinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of heaven
- terrestreinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of heaven
- terráqueoinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- terrestreinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- terrícolainhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- mundanoperson who is materialistic or worldly
Swedish jordbo
- jordboinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Thai ชาวโลก
- ชาวโลก (chaao-lôok)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Turkish dünyalı
- dünyalıinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Ukrainian земля́нин, ме́шканець Землі́
- земля́нин (zemljányn)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- ме́шканець Землі́ (méškanecʹ Zemlí)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- ме́шканка Землі́ (méškanka Zemlí)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
- терра́нець (terránecʹ)inhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Vietnamese người Trái đất
- người Trái đấtinhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Welsh daearolyn
- daearolyninhabitant of Earth, as opposed to one of another planet
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
earthling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earthling
“earthling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earthling. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “earthling,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earthling.
Source: earthling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.