Word.ws English Dictionary

martian

Syllables: Mart·ianUK/ˈmɑːʃən/US/ˈmɑɹʃən/

martian is the alternative letter-case form of Martian.

martian is the alternative form of Martian packet.

Meaning of Martian packet

Noun

Martian packet (plural Martian packets)

  1. A network packet whose declared source or destination IP address lies within a reserved address range unavailable for use on the public Internet.
    Synonyms:
    martian

Adjective capitalized: Martian

Martian (not comparable)

  1. Of or relating to the planet Mars, or (science fiction) its imagined inhabitants.
    • The direct heat of the sun, shining through so thin an atmosphere, must be considerable wherever the sun is at a sufficient elevation; and of course the very tenuity of the air renders vaporization so much the easier, for the boiling point (and consequently all temperatures of evaporation at given...1873 July, “The Planet Mars: An Essay by a Whewellite”, in The Cornhill Magazine, volume XXVIII, number 163, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 96–97
    • Prof. Percival Lowell, the eminent Martian astronomer, said in a recent interview in New York: "The Martian canals are not Panama canals. The word 'canals' you know, really means 'lines.' [...]"1910 September, H[enry] H[aven] Windsor, editor, Popular Mechanics, volume 14, number 3, Chicago, Ill.: Popular Mechanics Co., →OCLC, page 456, column 1
    Synonyms:
    Arean, areo-
  2. Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Mars; aggressive, bellicose.
    • [T]he majority of human beings born under the influence of Mars—the Martians (or "Martials")—are heavily built but physically strong. [...] [T]hey are easily angered, and, for the time being, forget everything in the excess of their violence. The worst Martian type will commit murder before he...1901, C. de Saint-Germain, “The Planets”, in Practical Astrology: A Simple Method of Casting Horoscopes: […], Chicago, Ill.: Laird & Lee, publishers, →OCLC, pages 83–84
    Synonyms:
    Martial
  3. (obsolete) Pertaining to battle or war; martial, military.
    • The iudges vvhich thereto ſelected vvere, / Into the Martian field adovvne deſcended, / To deeme this doutfull caſe, for vvhich they all contended.1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 6, page 68
  4. Pertaining to the Roman god Mars, the god of war.
    • Near-synonym: Arean
    Synonyms:
    Arean

Noun capitalized: Martian

Martian (plural Martians)

  1. A person under the astrological influence of the planet Mars.
    • [T]he majority of human beings born under the influence of Mars—the Martians (or "Martials")—are heavily built but physically strong. [...] A male Martian is generally a great favorite with the ladies and is apt to be rather quick and unscrupulous in his courtship methods. He is not a sentimental...1901, C. de Saint-Germain, “The Planets”, in Practical Astrology: A Simple Method of Casting Horoscopes: […], Chicago, Ill.: Laird & Lee, publishers, →OCLC, pages 83–84
  2. An inhabitant of the planet Mars.
    • Thus she [one of the moons of Mars] has a disc, always on this assumption be it remembered, equal to about a quarter of our moon's; and being illuminated by the sun, like the other moon, with a light varying from one-half to one-third that which he pours on the earth, it follows that the light she...1877 October, Wentworth Erck, “The Moons of Mars”, in The Cornhill Magazine, volume XXXVI, number 214, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 424
    • Those who have never seen a living Martian can scarcely imagine the strange horror of their appearance. The peculiar V-shaped mouth with its pointed upper lip, the absence of brow ridges, the absence of a chin beneath the wedge-like lower lip, the incessant quivering of this mouth, the Gorgon...1895–1897, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Cylinder Unscrews”, in The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, published 1898, →OCLC, book I (The Coming of the Martians), page 28
    1. (rare, specifically) A male Martian.
      • Coordinate term: Martianess

Proper noun capitalized: Martian

Martian

  1. A hypothetical language spoken on Mars.
    • Although impressed by [Catherine Elise] Muller as a person, [Théodore] Flournoy regarded her experiences as a marvel of psychology rather than spiritualism. One of his key findings was that, while Muller's Martian had a consistent 23 letter alphabet, grammar and syntax, it was in fact a twisted...2004 January 8, Mark Pilkington, “Martian spoken here”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 12 Sep 2014
    • Suvi: Between the Remnant city, Meridian, and however the Scourge fits in... pardon my Martian, but it's all weird as shit.2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Tempest

Synonyms of martian

Forms of martian

Noun
pluralmartians
pluralMartians
Adjective
alternative formmartian

Origin of martian

From Latin Mārtius (“of or relating to the planet Mars”) + -an (adjective-forming suffix). The word is cognate with Middle English marcien, marcyan, mercien (“subject to the influence or power of the planet Mars; relating to the god Mars, that is, warlike”), Middle French martien (“Martian”) (modern French martien), French Martien (“imaginary inhabitant of Mars; any extraterrestrial”), Italian marziano, Latin Mārtiānus (“Martian”), Portuguese marciano, Spanish marciano.

Words formed from martian

Phrases with martian

Questions about martian

What does martian mean?
Martian means of or relating to the planet Mars, or (science fiction) its imagined inhabitants.
What is martian the alternative letter-case form of?
Martian is the alternative letter-case form of Martian.
What part of speech is martian?
Martian can be an adjective, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce martian?
Martian is pronounced /ˈmɑːʃən/ (UK).

Words near martian in the dictionary

  1. martializing
  2. martiall
  3. martially
  4. martialness
  5. martials
  6. martian
  7. Martian blueberries
  8. Martian blueberry
  9. Martian packet
  10. Martian packets
  11. Martian poetry

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: martian (page history and authors); Martian (page history and authors); Martian packet (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-Martian.ogg.

Cite this entry: “martian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/martian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.