TERRESTRIAL DEFINITIONS - 12 definitions found
terrestrial adj 1: of or relating to or inhabiting the land as opposed to the sea or air [syn: tellurian, telluric, terrestrial, terrene] 2: of or relating to or characteristic of the planet Earth or its inhabitants; "planetary rumblings and eructations"- L.C.Eiseley ; "the planetary tilt"; "this terrestrial ball" [syn: planetary, terrestrial] 3: operating or living or growing on land [ant: amphibious, aquatic] 4: concerned with the world or worldly matters; "mundane affairs"; "he developed an immense terrestrial practicality" [syn: mundane, terrestrial] 5: of this earth; "transcendental motives for sublunary actions"; "fleeting sublunary pleasures"; "the nearest to an angelic being that treads this terrestrial ball" [syn: sublunar, sublunary, terrestrial] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) terrestrial adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin terrestris, from terra earth — more at terrace Date: 15th century 1. a. of or relating to the earth or its inhabitants <terrestrial magnetism> b. mundane in scope or character ; prosaic 2. a. of or relating to land as distinct from air or water <terrestrial transportation> b. (1) living on or in or growing from land <terrestrial plants> <terrestrial birds> (2) of or relating to terrestrial organisms <terrestrial habits> 3. belonging to the class of planets that are like the earth (as in density and silicate composition) <the terrestrial planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars> • terrestrial noun • terrestrially adverb Oxford English Reference Dictionary
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary terrestrial 1. Terrestrial means relating to the planet Earth rather than to some other part of the universe. ...terrestrial life forms. ADJ: ADJ n 2. Terrestrial television channels are transmitted using equipment situated at ground level, and not by satellite. (BRIT) ADJ: usu ADJ n English Explanatory Dictionary terrestrial tɪˈrestrɪəl adj. & n. --adj. 1 of or on or relating to the earth; earthly. 2 a of or on dry land. b Zool. living on or in the ground (opp. AQUATIC, ARBOREAL, AERIAL). c Bot. growing in the soil (opp. AQUATIC, EPIPHYTIC). 3 Astron. (of a planet) similar in size or composition to the earth. 4 of this world, worldly (terrestrial sins; terrestrial interests). --n. an inhabitant of the earth. øa terrestrial globe a globe representing the earth. the terrestrial globe the earth. terrestrial magnetism the magnetic properties of the earth as a whole. terrestrial telescope a telescope giving an erect image for observation of terrestrial objects. øøterrestrially adv. [ME f. L terrestris f. terra earth] Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Terrestrial \Ter*res"tri*al\, n. An inhabitant of the earth. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Terrestrial \Ter*res"tri*al\, a. [L. terrestris, from terra the earth. See Terrace.] 1. Of or pertaining to the earth; existing on the earth; earthly; as, terrestrial animals. ``Bodies terrestrial.'' --1 Cor. xv. 40. 2. Representing, or consisting of, the earth; as, a terrestrial globe. ``The dark terrestrial ball.'' --Addison. 3. Of or pertaining to the world, or to the present state; sublunary; mundane. Vain labors of terrestrial wit. --Spenser. A genius bright and base, Of towering talents, and terrestrial aims. --Young. 4. 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. --Woodward. 5. Adapted for the observation of objects on land and on the earth; as, a terrestrial telescope, in distinction from an astronomical telescope. -- Ter*res"tri*al*ly, adv. -- Ter*res"tri*al*ness, n. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Eyepiece \Eye"piece`\, n. (Opt.) The lens, or combination of lenses, at the eye end of a telescope or other optical instrument, through which the image formed by the mirror or object glass is viewed. Collimating eyepiece. See under Collimate. Negative, or Huyghenian, eyepiece, an eyepiece consisting of two plano-convex lenses with their curved surfaces turned toward the object glass, and separated from each other by about half the sum of their focal distances, the image viewed by the eye being formed between the two lenses. it was devised by Huyghens, who applied it to the telescope. Campani applied it to the microscope, whence it is sometimes called Campani's eyepiece}. Positive eyepiece, an eyepiece consisting of two plano-convex lenses placed with their curved surfaces toward each other, and separated by a distance somewhat less than the focal distance of the one nearest eye, the image of the object viewed being beyond both lenses; -- called also, from the name of the inventor, Ramsden's eyepiece}. terrestrial, or Erecting eyepiece, an eyepiece used in telescopes for viewing terrestrial objects, consisting of three, or usually four, lenses, so arranged as to present the image of the object viewed in an erect position. Soule\'s Dictionary of English Synonyms terrestrial a. Earthly, sublunary, mundane, worldly, terrene, subastral, subcelestial. English Explanatory Dictionary (Synonyms) terrestrial tɪˈrestrɪəl adj. 1 earthly, earthbound, worldly, terrene, tellurian or telluric, global, sublunary, subastral; mundane: He insists that we tackle our terrestrial problems before spending a fortune on space travel. --n. 2 earth-man, earth-woman, earth-person, earthling, mortal, human: My experiences are beyond the imaginations of you mere terrestrials. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 76 Moby Thesaurus words for "terrestrial": Cynthian, Philistine, anagalactic, asteroidal, astral, astrologic, astrologistic, astrologous, astronomic, astrophysical, carnal, carnal-minded, celestial, circumplanetary, cislunar, earth, earthbound, earthling, earthly, earthy, empyreal, empyrean, equinoctial, extragalactic, fluvioterrestrial, galactic, geophilous, global, heavenly, heliacal, human, intercosmic, interplanetary, intersidereal, interstellar, lunar, lunary, lunate, lunular, lunulate, material, materialistic, meteoric, meteoritic, mortal, mundane, nebular, nebulose, nebulous, planetal, planetarian, planetary, planetesimal, profane, prosaic, secular, semilunar, sidereal, solar, sphery, star-spangled, star-studded, starry, stellar, stellary, subastral, sublunar, tellurian, telluric, temporal, terraqueous, terrene, unspiritual, uranic, worldly, zodiacal |
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