Gaia

See also: gaia

English

WOTD – 22 April 2018

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Γαῖᾰ (Gaîa, “Gaea, the Earth personified as a goddess”), from γαῖᾰ (gaîa, “the Earth”), probably related to γῆ (gê, “earth, land; country”).

Sense 1 was coined by the British scientist, environmentalist, and futurist James Lovelock (born 1919) in his book Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth (1979), at the suggestion of the British novelist, playwright, and poet William Golding (1911–1993): see the quotation.

Pronunciation

• (Gaia hypothesis) (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡaɪə/
• (Goddess of the Earth) (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡeɪə/, /ˈɡaɪə/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪə, -eɪə

Proper noun

Gaia

1. (ecology) The ecosystem of the Earth regarded as a self-regulating superorganism. [from 20th c.]
   • 1979, J[ames] E[phraim] Lovelock, “Introductory”, in Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, pages 1 and 11:

     [page 1] As I write, two Viking spacecraft are circling our fellow planet Mars, awaiting landfall instructions from the Earth. Their mission is to search for life, or evidence of life, now or long ago. This book is also about a search for life, and the quest for Gaia is an attempt to find the largest living creature on Earth. […] [I]f Gaia does exist, then we may find ourselves and all other living things to be parts and partners of a vast being who in her entirety has the power to maintain our planet as a fit and comfortable habitat for life. […] [page 11] We have since defined Gaia as a complex entity involving the Earth's biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and soil; the totality constituting a feedback or cybernetic system which seeks an optimal physical and chemical environment for life on this planet.

   • 1980 July, James E. Lovelock, “Living Planet Earth”, in Omni‎^[1], volume 2, number 10, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 124, column 3:

     If we are all—from the lowliest microorganism to the largest whale—a part of Gaia, then we are all potentially important to its well-being. Therefore, the ecologists who deplore the elimination of a species are not merely appealing to our sentiment. They are warning us, often without knowing it, about a blind and dangerous tinkering with the mechanism of the world. It is not enough just to regret the extinction of a whale, or even of the smallpox virus. When we delete one of these from Gaia's catalog, we may have destroyed part of ourselves. We are also a part of Gaia.

   • 1983, David Hoffmann, “The Holistic Approach”, in The Holistic Herbal: A Herbal Celebrating the Wholeness of Life, Findhorn, Moray, Scotland: Findhorn, →ISBN; Holistic Herbal: A Safe and Practical Guide to Making and Using Herbal Remedies, 3rd edition, London: Thorsons, HarperCollins Publishers, 2002, →ISBN, page 13:

     In fact Planet Earth can be seen as an active participant in the creation of its own story, a living being now given the name Gaia, a name from Greek mythology for the goddess of earth. […] The very ability to perceive of the earth as living, as Gaia, is an indication of the expansion of consciousness that humanity as a whole is experiencing.

   • 1988, Lynn Margulis, “Jim Lovelock’s Gaia”, in Peter Bunyard, Edward Goldsmith, editors, Gaia, the Thesis, the Mechanisms and the Implications: Proceedings of the First Annual Camelford Conference on the Implications of the Gaia Hypothesis, held on 21–24th October 1987 in Cornwall, Camelford, Cornwall: Wadebridge Ecological Centre, →ISBN, page 50:

     Having recognised the Gaian phenomenon I would like to explain where I think Gaia comes from and ask for how long this Gaia phenomenon has persisted on the surface of the Earth. And then I would like to raise some of the objections to the Gaia hypothesis. To my knowledge the Gaia hypothesis has never been discussed in polite scientific society by sympathetic scientists; this is an all time first.

   • 2003 September 13, Nicholas Lezard, “The importance of being wrong”, in The Guardian‎^[2], retrieved 2021-05-19:

     Meanwhile, mankind is getting on with the business of turning the Earth barren; sooner or later, but more likely sooner, Gaia will shrug us off and the Earth will carry on as if we had never been.

   • 2007 November 1, Jeff Goodell, “James Lovelock, the Prophet”, in Rolling Stone‎^[3]:

     At first, Lovelock didn’t view global warming as an urgent threat to the planet. “Gaia is a tough bitch,” he often said […] But a few years ago […] Lovelock became convinced that Gaia’s autopilot system […] is seriously out of whack, derailed by pollution and deforestation.

2. (Greek mythology) A Greek goddess, the personification of the earth, and one of the primordial deities from whom all the others descend.
   • 1858, W[illiam] E[wart] Gladstone, “Ilios. The Trojans Compared and Contrasted with the Greeks.”, in Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age. [...] In Three Volumes, volume III, Oxford: At the University Press, →OCLC, page 153:

     While investigating the Greek mythology, we have found reason to suppose that Juno, Ceres, and Gaia are but three different forms of the same original tradition of a divine feminine: of whom Ceres is the Pelasgian copy, Juno the vivid and powerful Hellenic development, and Gaia the original skeleton, retaining nothing of the old character, but having acquired the function of gaol-keeper for perjurors when sent to the other world.

Derived terms

• Gaia-Enceladus
• Gaia hypothesis
• Gaian
• Gaianism
• Gaia Sausage

 

Translations

the ecosystem of the Earth regarded as a self-regulating organism

• Arabic: غَايَا (ḡāyā)
• Bengali: গাইয়া (gaiẏa)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 蓋亞／盖亚

  Mandarin: 蓋亞／盖亚 (Gàiyǎ)

  Wu: 盖娅

• Esperanto: Gaja
• French: Gaïa (fr) f
• Galician: Gaia (gl) f
• Greek: Γαία (el) f (Gaía)
• Hebrew: גאיה f
• Icelandic: Gaju f
• Japanese: ガイア
• Korean: 가이아 (Gaia)
• Malayalam: ഗെയാ (geyā)
• Norwegian: Gaia
• Occitan: Gaïa f
• Persian: گایا
• Polish: Gaja (pl) f
• Serbo-Croatian: Геја f, Geja (sh) f
• Ukrainian: Ге́ї f (Héji)

Further reading

• Gaia hypothesis on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Gaia philosophy on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• aiga

Finnish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Γαῖᾰ (Gaîa).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɑi̯ɑ/, [ˈɡɑ̝i̯ɑ̝]
• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɑi̯jɑ/, [ˈɡɑ̝i̯j(ː)ɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑiɑ
• Syllabification^(key): Gai‧a

Proper noun

Gaia

1. Gaia

Declension

Inflection of Gaia (Kotus type 12/kulkija, no gradation)
nominative		Gaia	—
genitive		Gaian	—
partitive		Gaiaa	—
illative		Gaiaan	—
		singular	plural
nominative		Gaia	—
accusative	nom.	Gaia	—
	gen.	Gaian
genitive		Gaian	—
partitive		Gaiaa	—
inessive		Gaiassa	—
elative		Gaiasta	—
illative		Gaiaan	—
adessive		Gaialla	—
ablative		Gaialta	—
allative		Gaialle	—
essive		Gaiana	—
translative		Gaiaksi	—
abessive		Gaiatta	—
instructive		—	—
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of Gaia (Kotus type 12/kulkija, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative Gaiani — accusative nom. Gaiani — gen. Gaiani genitive Gaiani — partitive Gaiaani — inessive Gaiassani — elative Gaiastani — illative Gaiaani — adessive Gaiallani — ablative Gaialtani — allative Gaialleni — essive Gaianani — translative Gaiakseni — abessive Gaiattani — instructive — — comitative — — second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative Gaiasi — accusative nom. Gaiasi — gen. Gaiasi genitive Gaiasi — partitive Gaiaasi — inessive Gaiassasi — elative Gaiastasi — illative Gaiaasi — adessive Gaiallasi — ablative Gaialtasi — allative Gaiallesi — essive Gaianasi — translative Gaiaksesi — abessive Gaiattasi — instructive — — comitative — — first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative Gaiamme — accusative nom. Gaiamme — gen. Gaiamme genitive Gaiamme — partitive Gaiaamme — inessive Gaiassamme — elative Gaiastamme — illative Gaiaamme — adessive Gaiallamme — ablative Gaialtamme — allative Gaiallemme — essive Gaianamme — translative Gaiaksemme — abessive Gaiattamme — instructive — — comitative — — second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative Gaianne — accusative nom. Gaianne — gen. Gaianne genitive Gaianne — partitive Gaiaanne — inessive Gaiassanne — elative Gaiastanne — illative Gaiaanne — adessive Gaiallanne — ablative Gaialtanne — allative Gaiallenne — essive Gaiananne — translative Gaiaksenne — abessive Gaiattanne — instructive — — comitative — — third-person possessor singular plural nominative Gaiansa — accusative nom. Gaiansa — gen. Gaiansa genitive Gaiansa — partitive Gaiaansa — inessive Gaiassaan Gaiassansa — elative Gaiastaan Gaiastansa — illative Gaiaansa — adessive Gaiallaan Gaiallansa — ablative Gaialtaan Gaialtansa — allative Gaialleen Gaiallensa — essive Gaianaan Gaianansa — translative Gaiakseen Gaiaksensa — abessive Gaiattaan Gaiattansa — instructive — — comitative — —

Latin

Alternative forms

• (archaic or hypercorrect) Cāia
• Gāja

Etymology

Feminine form of Gāius.

Pronunciation

• (original)
  • (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡaː.i.a/, [ˈɡäːiä]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡa.i.a/, [ˈɡäːiä]
• (later)
  • (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡaː.i̯a/, [ˈɡäːi̯ä]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡa.ja/, [ˈɡäːjä]
• (hypercorrect)
  • (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈkaː.i.a/, [ˈkäːiä]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.i.a/, [ˈkäːiä]
• (hypercorrect)
  • (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈkaː.i̯a/, [ˈkäːi̯ä]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.ja/, [ˈkäːjä]

Proper noun

Gāia f (genitive Gāiae, masculine Gāius); first declension

1. A feminine praenomen.

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	Gāia	Gāiae
Genitive	Gāiae	Gāiārum
Dative	Gāiae	Gāiīs
Accusative	Gāiam	Gāiās
Ablative	Gāiā	Gāiīs
Vocative	Gāia	Gāiae

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɡaj.ɐ/ [ˈɡaɪ̯.ɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɡaj.ɐ/ [ˈɡaɪ̯.ɐ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɡaj.a/ [ˈɡaɪ̯.a]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɡaj.ɐ/

• Rhymes: -ajɐ
• Hyphenation: Gai‧a

Proper noun

Gaia f

1. Gaia
2. Synonym of Vila Nova de Gaia

Usage notes

Gaia is never indicated by an article; see usage notes for Portugal.

Turkish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Γαῖᾰ (Gaîa).

Proper noun

Gaia

1. (Greek mythology) Gaia