In this blog, you will learn how ‘Earth’ got its name. However, firstly you need to understand that nearly every language has its name for the planet. For example, it is called ‘aarde’ in Dutch, ‘dünya’ in Turkish, and ‘terrain Portuguese, to name a few with their etymology. However, the common thread that binds all languages is that they were all derived from the same meaning in their origins: ‘soil’ or ‘ground.’
The modern English word and name for Earth are said to go back to at least 1,000 years. As the evolution of the English language from ‘Anglo-Saxon’ (English-German) with the migration of Germanic tribes from a specific continent to Britain in the 15th century A.D, the word ‘Earth’ is known to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘erda.’ It’s Germanic equivalent ‘erde; which means soil or ground.
In Old English, the word became ‘ertha’ or ‘eor(th)e.’ However, as per the speculations, the origin of the word could also be from the Indo-European language base ‘er,’ which is said to produce more modern adaptations of the work with the use of languages today. Something specific is that Earth is the only one in the solar system that does not come from Greco-Roman mythology out of all the names of all other planets. However, if you give it a thought, all the other planets were named after Roman and Greek goddesses and gods.
Few Facts:
- According to one of the earliest recorded use of the name, Earth was translations of the Bible into English.
- Earth is the one and only planet in the solar system that has plate tectonics. As a result, the Earth’s outer crust is broken up into other regions called tectonic plates.
- It is true that Earth doesn’t take 24 hours to rotate on its axis; instead, it takes 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds to completely rotate around its axis.