tellurian
Syllables: tel·lur·i·an/tɛˈljʊə.ɹɪ.ən/US/tɛˈl(j)ʊ.ɹi.ən/
tellurian adjective: of or relating to the earth; (specifically, chiefly science fiction) inhabiting planet Earth as opposed to other planets. Also the alternative spelling of tellurion.
Adjective
tellurian (not comparable)
- Of or relating to the earth; (specifically, chiefly science fiction) inhabiting planet Earth as opposed to other planets.
- It certainly appears difficult to reconcile with known facts the opinion maintained by [Carl] Linnæus and by [Thomas] Pennant, which is, indeed, a very prevalent one, that all the tribes of tellurian animals now existing have descended from a stock that was preserved in the ark of Noah.1836, James Cowles Prichard, “Notes on the Contents of the First Book”, in Researches into the Physical History of Mankind, 3rd edition, volume I, London: Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper, […]; and J....
- Of peaceful mutual Love, the whole mankind / Shall feel the happy power; joyful scenes / Of earthly bliss, tellurian happiness.1836, [Constantine Samuel Rafinesque], “XIX. Women and Children.”, in The World, or Instability. A Poem. In Twenty Parts, […], Philadelphia, Pa.; London: Published by J. Dobson, […]; London: O. Rich...
- Synonyms:
- earthly, telluric, terrene, terrestrial
- Of a planet, being composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals; see also terrestrial planet.
- Of a mineral: containing tellurium.
- The tellurian mineral from Goldfield, Nevada, described originally as goldfieldite by Ransome (1909), was proven to be tellurian tennantite by X-ray powder diffraction (Thompson 1946).1986, Katsuo Kase, “Tellurian Tennantite from the Besshi-type Deposits in the Sambagawa Metamorphic Belt, Japan”, in The Canadian Mineralogist, volume 24, number 2, page 400, column 1
Noun capitalized: Tellurian
Tellurian (plural Tellurians)
- An inhabitant of the Earth.
- If any distant world (which may be the case) are so far ahead of us Tellurians in optical resources as to see distinctly through their telescopes all that we do on earth, what is the grandest sight to which we ever treat them?1847, Thomas de Quincey, “Joan of Arc”, in Miscellaneous Essays
- There is a mystery in Tellus which has not been solved. I cannot reconcile the disappearance of all its water and its race of men as well, with the legend preserved in our family that, not so very long ago, Tellurians visited us, staying beneath this very roof as guests. Why did the Earth-race die...1930 February, Edwards Gawain [pseudonym; George Edward Pendray], “A Rescue From Jupiter”, in Science Wonder Stories, volume 1, number 9, page 787
Also used as
tellurian is also the alternative spelling of tellurion.
tellurian is also the alternative letter-case form of Tellurian.
Examples of tellurian in a sentence
- For entrophy is the real cosmic wave, and evolution only a momentary tellurian ripple within it.1970, C[live] S[taples] Lewis, edited by Walter Hooper, God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics, Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B....
- It treats authority as being ultimately celestial, and it dispenses with the concept of the Mother as tellurian and conditioned by the earthly element.1983, Burr Cartwright Brundage, “The Goddesses”, in The Fifth Sun: Aztec Gods, Aztec World (The Texas Pan American Series), Austin, Tex....
Synonyms of tellurian
6 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of tellurian
| plural | tellurians |
|---|---|
| plural | Tellurians |
| alternative form | tellurian |
Origin of tellurian
From Latin tellūs (“earth, ground; the globe, planet Earth; country, land”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“ground, bottom”), + -ian (suffix meaning "from, related to, or like" when forming an adjective, or "one from, belonging to, relating to, or like" when forming a noun).
From Latin tellūs (“earth, ground; the globe, planet Earth; country, land”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“ground, bottom”) + -ian (suffix meaning ‘from, related to, or like’ (when forming an adjective), or ‘one from, belonging to, relating to, or like’ (when forming a noun)).
Questions about tellurian
- What does tellurian mean?
- Tellurian means of or relating to the earth; (specifically, chiefly science fiction) inhabiting planet Earth as opposed to other planets.
- How do you use tellurian in a sentence?
- For entrophy is the real cosmic wave, and evolution only a momentary tellurian ripple within it.
- What part of speech is tellurian?
- Tellurian can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce tellurian?
- Tellurian is pronounced /tɛˈljʊə.ɹɪ.ən/ (UK).
Words near tellurian in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: tellurian (page history and authors); Tellurian (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.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-tellurian.oga.
Cite this entry: “tellurian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tellurian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.