Elements of the Universe: Terr, Terra ("Earth")

The ancients believed that the universe was composed of five basic elements: earth, air, fire, water, and sky. The Greek and Latin words for these elements still show up in our language today. Learn these words that come from the Latin word terra, meaning "earth."

Here are links to our complete set of Elements of the Universe lists: Cosm, Cosmo ("Universe") / Terr, Terra ("Earth") / Geo ("Earth") / Hydr, Hydro ("Water") / Aqua ("Water") / Ign, Igni ("Fire") / Pyr, Pyro ("Fire") / Aer, Aero ("Air") / Aether ("Sky") / Aster, Astro ("Star") / Sol ("Sun")
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. terrain
    a piece of ground having specific characteristics
    The blaze is burning in steep, rugged terrain covered in thick, dense brush and dead trees. Los Angeles Times (Jul 30, 2015)
  2. terrestrial
    relating to the land as opposed to the sea or air
    It strongly urged nations everywhere to accelerate efforts to save the marine and terrestrial life that remain — the mammals, the birds, the fish, the plants, even the insects that pollinate the world’s food supply. New York Times (Aug 17, 2019)
  3. territory
    a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
    “Farming with what? And how are we going to feed millions of people on the tiny territory we hold now?” Half of a Yellow Sun
  4. territorial
    belonging to the region of any state or ruler
    The second period is characterized by the acquisition of the horse, and we would conjecture that a good deal of territorial expansion took place after that time. Murphy, Robert F.
  5. terrace
    make land into level shelves, as for cultivation
    They are built on about six terraced levels of the mountain, with startling views of the valley and down to the rushing river below. New York Times (Aug 6, 2015)
  6. terrene
    belonging to this earth or world; not ideal or heavenly
    But the visitor could not convey celestial realities to terrene minds. Lind-af-Hageby, L. (Lizzy)
  7. terrier
    any of several breeds of small, short-bodied dog
    The barking continued; again the terrier advanced; again the Labrador swam across to encourage him. The Incredible Journey
    The Old French name for this breed translates into "earth dog." A terrier will chase its prey, such as foxes, rabbits, and mice, both over ground and through underground hiding places.
  8. terrarium
    transparent container in which plants and animals are kept
    Mandy owns two other beetles at the moment, and keeps them in terrariums full of soil, leaves and wood. The Verge (Jul 6, 2017)
    This word was coined from aquarium and was originally used to differentiate a terrarium from containers for plants that live in water. The dry environment of a terrarium can also house insects and small reptiles.
  9. terra firma
    the solid part of the earth's surface
    And yet a question presents itself, not unreasonably, as the plane circles the city and each new circumnavigation seems to bring it no closer to terra firma: are we ever going to land? The Guardian (Jul 19, 2019)
    terra; firma ("strong, stable")
  10. terra cotta
    clay fired for pottery and building material, or the finished object
    The most common style is Mediterranean Revival, which is characterized by stucco walls and terra cotta tiled roofs that evoke Italian and Spanish architecture. Washington Times (May 11, 2019)
    terra; cotta ("baked")
    Cotta is an Italian adjective that comes from the Latin verb coquere which means "to cook."
  11. terra incognita
    an unknown and unexplored region
    Crudely surveyed at twenty thousand feet a dozen years earlier, Denali itself remained unmapped terra incognita. The Guardian (Nov 8, 2018)
    terra; in (prefix meaning "not") + cognitus ("known")
  12. extraterrestrial
    a life form or being from outer space
    There will be no aliens poking forth from bellies or monument-blasting battles with extraterrestrials; it’s just about us humans. Washington Times (Oct 30, 2014)
    extra (prefix meaning "outside") + terra + ial (suffix forming adjectives)
    The word was first used as an adjective in the early 1800s. By 1956, it gained recognition as a noun.
Created on Fri Aug 14 11:40:09 EDT 2015 (updated Mon Aug 26 14:27:16 EDT 2019)

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