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    Six of the planets are named after Roman gods. Uranus is named after a Greek god. What is Earth named after?

    Question #94051. Asked by rxbigdawg. (Mar 28 08 3:47 PM)


    neelie_447

    		"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."

    http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=451

    Mar 28 08, 3:53 PM
    randomguy55

    		The word "Earth" comes from an ancient word that in itself means earth (as in the ground). When that word was invented, people did not know that the Earth was a planet.

    http://www.astro.uu.nl/~strous/AA/en/antwoorden/namen.html#v370

    Mar 28 08, 3:56 PM
    queproblema

    		See the rather recently revisited #3848.

    http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question3848.html
    What is the only planet not named after a god?

    Mar 28 08, 9:17 PM

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