Dictionary

earthy en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈɝθi/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈɜː.θi/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English erthy, equivalent to earth + -y. Compare German erdig (“earthy”), Swedish jordig (“earthy”).

Meanings

1. Resembling dirt or soil (i.e. earth).
   • The earthy smell of fresh turned loam told me the farmer had started plowing this morning, the definitive sign of spring for me.
2. Composed, or largely composed, of soil.
   • Beyond here the tides are not felt, and we now entered upon a district of elevated forest, with a finer vegetation. Large trees stretch out their arms across the stream, and the steep, earthy banks are clothed with ferns and zingiberaceous plants. 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., page 103:
3. (figuratively) Down-to-earth, not artificial, natural.
   • She was an earthy soul, the salt of the earth as they say of such rural folk, untarnished by false civilization.
   • Meekly thou didſt reſign this earthy load / Of Death, call'd Life; 1673, John Milton, “Sonnet XIV”, in Poems, &c. upon Several Occasions, London: […] Tho[mas] Dring […], →OCLC, page 58:
   • YSL, as he is often called, is equally capable of casual, aristocratic cruelty and earthy, spontaneous tenderness, and when you study his face it can be hard to distinguish boredom from rapture. 2015 May 7, A. O. Scott, “Review: ‘Saint Laurent,’ Beautiful People, High Fashion and Career at Its Pinnacle”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 18 Sep 2019:
4. (figuratively) Coarse and unrefined, crude.
   • earthy humour
5. Like or resembling the earth or of the earth.
6. Covered with earth (mud, dirt).
   • He was wet through with the dew and quite earthy from diving into the burrows the Boy had made for him in the flower bed, and Nana grumbled as she rubbed him off with a corner of her apron. 1921 June, Margery Williams, “The Velveteen Rabbit: Or How Toys Become Real”, in Harper’s Bazar, volume LVI, number 6 (2504 overall), New York, N.Y.: International Magazine Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

earthiness · earthily

Relateds

salt of the earth · earthly · earthish · Earthish

Synonyms

terreous

Translations (24)

ru непосредственный (down to earth) · de erdig (resembling dirt or soil) · bg пръстен (resembling dirt or soil) · ru землистый (resembling dirt or soil) · ota طوپراقلو (resembling dirt or soil) · nl aardeachtig (resembling dirt or soil) · bg груб (down to earth) · nl natuurlijk (down to earth) · bg естествен (down to earth) · nl met de voeten op de grond (down to earth) · la terreus (resembling dirt or soil) · nl aards (resembling dirt or soil) · ru грубый ((figurative) coarse and unrefined, crude) · fr terreux (resembling dirt or soil) · ru земляной (resembling dirt or soil) · pt terroso (resembling dirt or soil) · bg почвен (resembling dirt or soil) · bg земен (resembling or of the earth) · gl terreiro (resembling dirt or soil) · ru земной (down to earth) · ru житейский (down to earth) · it corposo (resembling or of the earth) · sv jordig (resembling dirt or soil) · nl aardeachtig (resembling or of the earth)