terrene en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /təˈɹiːn/
- (Southern-England) audio
- /tɛˈɹiːn/
Etymology
From Middle English terrene, from Anglo-Norman terriene, feminine of terrien, from Latin terrēnus, from terra (“earth”).
Meanings
-
Pertaining to earth or the material world; earthly, terrestrial (as opposed to heavenly or marine).
For the earth was both celestial and terrene, the down here and the up there.
1974, Guy Davenport, Tatlin!:The common conceptions of the matters which lie at the basis of our terrene experience
1882, Laurens P. Hickok, “The Understanding”, in Empirical Psychology, Boston: Ginn, Heath & Co., page 87:One had never thought of the sea as the great place of safety, but now it came over one that there is no place so safe from the land. When it does not give you trouble it takes it away—takes away letters and telegrams and newspapers and visits and duties and efforts, all the complications, all the superfluities and superstitions that we have stuffed into our terrene life.
1888, Henry James, The Patagonia:Arius, warring his life long upon the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father, and Valentine, spurning Christ’s terrene body, and the subtle African heresiarch Sabellius who held that the Father was Himself His own Son.
1922 February 2, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC:God set before him a mortal and immortal life, a nature celestial and terrene.
1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):Even Crovvns and Diadems, the moſt ſplendid parts of terrene attains; are akin to that, vvhich to day is in the field, and to morrovv is cut dovvn, and vvither'd: […]
1661, Joseph Glanvill, chapter XVII, in The Vanity of Dogmatizing: Or Confidence in Opinions. […], London: […] E. C[otes] for Henry Eversden […], →OCLC, pages 237–238:
- Made of matter (as opposed to antimatter).
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more terrene | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most terrene | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
subterrene · ultraterrene · terrenity · exoterrene · terrenely · extraterrene · salino-terrene · superterrene