Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “terrestrial” come from?

Terrestrial comes from Latin terrestris, derived from Latin terra meaning "earth," which traces to Proto-Indo-European ters- meaning "to dry."

terrestrial (English): A ground-dwelling plant; Alternative letter-case...

Definitions

  1. A ground-dwelling plant; Alternative letter-case...

Ancestry of “terrestrial”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinterrestrisOf or pertaining to the earth or land;...
2LatinTerragoddess of the earth; the Earth itself; tierra ...
3Proto-Indo-Europeanters-dry

Words derived from “terrestrial”

  • extraterrestrial
  • terrestrially
  • superterrestrial
  • semiterrestrial
  • nonterrestrial
  • terrestriality
  • terrestrialization
  • subterrestrial
  • circumterrestrial
  • extraterrestrially
  • intraterrestrial
  • unterrestrial
  • preterrestrial
  • terrestrialness
  • extraterrestrialization
  • extraterrestrialness
  • nonextraterrestrial
  • limnoterrestrial
  • terrestrialize
  • euterrestrial
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ters- →