terrestrial
/tɪˈɹɛstɹɪ.əl/noun, adjective
terrestrial is spelled T-E-R-R-E-S-T-R-I-A-L: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,368th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, terrestrial means “A ground-dwelling plant” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of terrestrial is terrestrials.
How many letters and syllables are in terrestrial?
| Letters | 11: T-E-R-R-E-S-T-R-I-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.0 times per million words; the 15,368th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is terrestrial?
Terrestrial appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,368th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce terrestrial?
- UK /tɪˈɹɛstɹɪ.əl/
- US /tɪˈɹɛstɹɪ.əl/
- US /təˈɹɛstɹɪ.əl/
Terrestrial has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-terrestrial.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of terrestrial
- terrestrials plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does terrestrial mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A ground-dwelling plant.
- 2
Alternative letter-case form of Terrestrial (“Inhabitant of Earth”).
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to the Earth or its (native) inhabitants.
- 2
Of, relating to, or composed of land or earth, as contrasted with bodies of water, with wetlands viewed as semiaquatic environs, or with aerial or space environs.
Near-synonyms: land (attributive), landbased, landly
- 3
Living or growing in or on land (as opposed to other habitats or substrates).
a terrestrial plant
- 4
Being composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals, as contrasted with gases, liquified gases, and dust.
Near-synonyms: tellurian, telluric, terrene, Terran, rocky, metallic
- 5
Concerned with the world or worldly matters.
Near-synonyms: worldly, sublunary
- 6
Of or pertaining to the second highest degree of glory.
- 7
Broadcast using radio waves as opposed to satellite or cable.
noun
- 1
An inhabitant of the planet Earth.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Terrestrial in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | terrestre |
| German | irdisch, terrestrisch, Erd- , Land- , erdähnlich |
| Portuguese | terrestre, térreo |
| Spanish | terrestre |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does terrestrial come from?
From Middle English terrestrialle, from terrestre or Latin terrestris, from terra (“land, earth, ground”), with the suffix -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).