What is the origin of the name "Earth" for our planet?

LordVetinari

Hi ya, check out http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=451 for the whole in depth answer from a site called Curious about Astronomy. Very informative for everyting Astronomic!! As a taster... "Unfortunately, I think it's pretty impossible to say exactly who first named the planet 'Earth'. Actually, I really doubt one person really named it intentionally; rather it developed over time as part of the English language. Earth is Old English and German in origin, related to the Old Saxon 'ertha', the Dutch 'aerde', and the German 'erda'. Terra is a French and Latin word, and so isn't part of the 'Earth' etymology. I'm not really an expert on words and word origins, but it seems likely that people used Earth to mean 'land' and then it was the natural thing to refer to all the land and the planet. I tried to look up more specific details...." and so on hope this helps LordVetinari Apr 01 10, 10:38 PM

lones78

"Unlike the rest of the planets in the Solar System, mankind didn't perceive the Earth as a planet until the sixteenth century.[155] The name "Earth" derives from the Anglo-Saxon word erda, which means ground or soil. It became eorthe later, and then erthe in Middle English. The standard astronomical symbol of the Earth consists of a cross circumscribed by a circle." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth#Cultural_viewpoint Apr 02 10, 1:27 AM