Who named our planet "Earth".?

Answer 1

I think over ten thousand years ago when Man changed from hunter/gatherer clans to an agricultural-based society, the word "Earth" became very important. Of course, the initial reference and use of the word "Earth" is not to indicate our planet, but to indicate the ground that we walk on and the fact that it provides food for us (i.e. Mother Earth). It was not until Copernicus's time that we realized that the Earth is just another planet that circles the Sun. However, it took several hundred years more before the Copernicus's ideas were general accepted by the church and people. (Many scientists already accepted this fact, but they dare not openly admitted it. Galileo who did so in the publication of his book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, in 1632, was arrested and condemned by the Inquisition.)

The short answer to your question is that there is no single ONE person who named our planet Earth, but the use of the word to reference our planet did not happen until after 1530, when Copernicus published his great work De Revolutionibus.

Answer 2

The English word "Earth" has many cognates, words in one or more languages that share a common origin, in many languages both modern and ancient. The root of the word has cognates in extinct languages such as 'ertha' in Old Saxon and 'ert' (which means 'ground').

Other better known terms that refer to the Earth are Latin based, such as the Latin root 'terra-', which, for example, is used in the word 'terrestrial', which means 'Of or relating to the earth or its inhabitants' according to Dictionary.com. The Latin root 'tellur-' is used in words like telluric and tellurion. Both of these terms come from the Roman goddess Terra Mater. The Greek prefix 'geo-' derived from Gaia, a figure that had much to do with Earth in Greek mythology and culture.

So, all in all, we can't exactly pin point an exact person who named our planet "Earth". The ancient peoples created a name for the surface they lived on, and this word evolved as their knowledge of the ground expanded. In my point of view, at first, the word 'Earth', wasn't exactly meant to be a 'name' in the sense that each person has a name like Jane or David. It was used as the name of the object, like how a sock is a sock, a box is a box, or a cabinet is a cabinet. You could give a sock a name, like Andy or whatnot, but it would still be a sock. What I am getting at is that the term 'Earth', in some form, came way before the word 'planet'. So, for a while before astronomy and other discoveries kicked in, the word 'Earth' served as the name of the object, much in the same way as the sock is the name for a sock. After many discoveries, we came to realize that there were 'planets', and that our Earth was one of many. So, at that point, the word 'Earth' became the actual name of our planet. Hopefully, all that makes sense, but I don't blame you if you got lost reading that. :P I'd like to clarify that this paragraph came strictly from my point of view, and I don't have a degree in word origins and stuff. Interpret my thoughts as you please!

Answer 3

"Earth is the only planet whose English name does not derive from Greek/Roman mythology. The name derives from Old English and Germanic." (see first link)

"The name of our planet is the Earth. The name of our moon is the Moon. The name of our solar system is the Solar System. This is the usage approved by the IAU (International Astronomical Union), the body in charge of naming celestial objects. You have read or heard people using Luna for the Moon, or Terra or Gaia for the Earth, or Sol for the Sun, but these are simply poetic terms, often seen in science fiction stories, but not used by astronomers in actual scientific writing." (see second link)

As with the number of planets we now have, things change over the years. The usage of Sol, Luna and Terra were once widely used, but now the IAU has voted this current usage to be "correct" and "proper".

Answer 4

Our planet has been called "Earth" since ancient times. The ancient Greeks thought the Earth was a rocky sphere with only minimal bodies of water, and they even measured it's circumference at ~25,000 miles, which is essentially correct. Just think about sitting in an ancient Greek geography class and being taught that everything to the north is an unknown land mass called "Europa", everything to the east is an unknown land mass called "Asia", everything to the south is an unknown land mass called "Africa" and everything to the west is a relatively small sea bounded essentially on all sides by land. There is a small gap in the land called "the pillars of Hercules"at the far western edge of this sea and beyond that is a large unknown land mass called "Atlantis". I think you would conclude that the most logical thing to call our planet would be "Earth", don't you agree?

Answer 5

The English word "Earth" has many cognates, words in one or more languages that share a common origin, in many languages both modern and ancient. The root of the word has cognates in extinct languages such as 'ertha' in Old Saxon and 'ert' (which means 'ground').

Other better known terms that refer to the Earth are Latin based, such as the Latin root 'terra-', which, for example, is used in the word 'terrestrial', which means 'Of or relating to the earth or its inhabitants' according to Dictionary.com. The Latin root 'tellur-' is used in words like telluric and tellurion. Both of these terms come from the Roman goddess Terra Mater. The Greek prefix 'geo-' derived from Gaia, a figure that had much to do with Earth in Greek mythology and culture.

So, all in all, we can't exactly pin point an exact person who named our planet "Earth". The ancient peoples created a name for the surface they lived on, and this word evolved as their knowledge of the ground expanded. In my point of view, at first, the word 'Earth', wasn't exactly meant to be a 'name' in the sense that each person has a name like Jane or David. It was used as the name of the object, like how a sock is a sock, a box is a box, or a cabinet is a cabinet. You could give a sock a name, like Andy or whatnot, but it would still be a sock. What I am getting at is that the term 'Earth', in some form, came way before the word 'planet'. So, for a while before astronomy and other discoveries kicked in, the word 'Earth' served as the name of the object, much in the same way as the sock is the name for a sock. After many discoveries, we came to realize that there were 'planets', and that our Earth was one of many. So, at that point, the word 'Earth' became the actual name of our planet. Hopefully, all that makes sense, but I don't blame you if you got lost reading that. :P I'd like to clarify that this paragraph came strictly from my point of view, and I don't have a degree in word origins and stuff. Interpret my thoughts as you please!

Hope this helps! Fair winds.

Answer 6

People called the ground Earth before they knew it was a planet.

Answer 7

Our planet is not named "Earth". Neither are the sun and moon named "Sun" and "Moon". The clue is that each of those words are proceeded by the article "the".

The name of our planet is "Terra" and is the root from which we get words like terrestrial, terraform, terranian, etc.
The name of the moon is "Luna", and give us words like lunatic, lunar, etc.

These names were established long ago when Latin ws the common language used between different countries.


The name of the sun is "Sol" and it is from this name we get words like solstice, solar, etc.

Answer 8

The word Earth originates from the Middle English word, erthe, which came from Old English eorthe; akin to Old High German erda. This then traces back to the Greek, eraze from the Hebrew erez, meaning ground.

Answer 9

pretty obvious
Papa n Mummy Earth

Answer 10

I can't tell you who named it "Earth," but I do know that the word "Earth" is derived from the Middle English word "erthe" and the Old English word "eorthe."