TERRESTRIAL • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Terrestrial

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/tərˈɛstriəl/ Listen

adjective

Terrestrial adj.

Of or pertaining to the earth; existing on the earth; earthly; as, terrestrial animals. "Bodies terrestrial."

Representing, or consisting of, the earth; as, a terrestrial globe. "The dark terrestrial ball."

Of or pertaining to the world, or to the present state; sublunary; mundane. "Vain labors of terrestrial wit." "A genius bright and base, Of towering talents, and terrestrial aims."

Consisting of land, in distinction from water; belonging to, or inhabiting, the land or ground, in distinction from trees, water, or the like; as, terrestrial serpents. "The terrestrial parts of the globe."

Adapted for the observation of objects on land and on the earth; as, a terrestrial telescope, in distinction from an astronomical telescope.

noun

Terrestrial n. An inhabitant of the earth.

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Etymology of 'Terrestrial'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Terrestrial" Quotes from Famous Books

... reach it even now before dark. Still the day wore on, and our poor horses followed us with feeble steps, and it was pitiable to look at them, so swollen and disfigured had they become, their faces resembling hippopotami rather than terrestrial steeds. At last Dio's stumbled and fell; nothing which we could do would induce the poor creature to rise, so we were obliged to leave him to become ere long the prey of the coyotes, should they venture to devour a poisoned animal. Mine, which had perhaps not received so much ...

— With Axe and Rifle • W.H.G. Kingston

... a dynamic conglomerate. Atoms are in perpetual motion, caused by forces. All is movement. Heat, light, electricity, terrestrial magnetism, do not exist as independent agents. They are but modes of motion. That which actually exists is force. It is force that sustains the universe. It is force that projects the earth into space. It is force ...

— The Arena - Volume 4, No. 20, July, 1891 • Various

... manners. The phrase about no priest coming between a man and his Creator is but an impoverished fragment of the full philosophic doctrine; the true Puritan was equally clear that no singer or story-teller or fiddler must translate the voice of God to him into the tongues of terrestrial beauty. It is notable that the one Puritan man of genius in modern times, Tolstoy, did accept this full conclusion; denounced all music as a mere drug, and forbade his own admirers to read his own admirable novels. Now, the English Puritans were not only Puritans but Englishmen, ...

— A Short History of England • G. K. Chesterton

... the Akademie der Wissenschaften, in May 1844, in which he shewed that the dust, so far from being inorganic, contained numerous specimens of a species of flint-shelled animalcules, or infusoria, known as polygastrica, and minute portions of terrestrial plants. The investigation led him to certain conclusions: '1. That meteoric dust-rain is of terrestrial origin. 2. That the same is not a rain of volcanic ashes. 3. That it is necessarily a dust carried up to a great height by a strong current ...

— Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 432 - Volume 17, New Series, April 10, 1852 • Various

... entry includes a wide variety of situations that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral claims of one sort or another. Information regarding disputes over international terrestrial and maritime boundaries has been reviewed by the US Department of State. References to other situations involving borders or frontiers may also be included, such as resource disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues; however, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official ...

— The 2005 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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