eorþe

See also: eorthe and eorðe

Middle English

Noun

eorþe

1. Alternative form of erthe (“earth”)

Old English

Alternative forms

• earþe — Northumbrian
• iorþe — Kentish
• eorþ, yrþ, eorðe, eorþo, eorþu
• eorþæ, heorðe, heordæ, eorda, eordæ, eorða

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *erþu, from Proto-Germanic *erþō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈe͜or.θe/, [ˈe͜orˠ.ðe]

Noun

eorþe f

1. ground
2. dirt
3. the planet Earth
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexameron:

     Sēo eorðe ne liġþ on nānum þinge, ac hēo stent on lofte.

     The Earth isn't on top of anything: it floats in the air.

Usage notes

• The meaning "ground, dirt" rarely uses the definite article. The meaning "the Earth" uses the definite article most of the time, though there are a fair number of exceptions; in this it is like sunne (“sun”), mōna (“moon”), and heofon (“sky”).

Declension

Weak feminine (n-stem):

	singular	plural
nominative	eorþe	eorþan
accusative	eorþan	eorþan
genitive	eorþan	eorþena
dative	eorþan	eorþum

Synonyms

• folde
• hruse

Derived terms

• eorþæppel (“cucumber”)
• eorþbeofung (“earthquake”)
• eorþberġe (“strawberry”)
• eorþcræft (“geometry”)
• eorþlīċ (“earthly”)
• eorþtyrewa (“asphalt”)
• ierþen (“of dirt”)
• ierþling (“farmer”)

Descendants

• Middle English: erthe, eerthe, eorthe, eorþe, ereth, erth, erþ, erþe, irthe, yrþe, orþe, ȝorthe, horþe, horðe, urþe, urthe, hurde, erde, earþe, erðe, eorðe, eorth, herðe (Early Middle English), oerþe, oerþ (Herebert)
  • English: earth; Earth
  • Middle Scots: erd, erde, ȝerd, ȝeird (influenced by erd)
    • Scots: yird; Yird
  • Yola: erth, eart, eard, eorth, eord