Revised as of
2 July 2023
What?? You thought this was the same word??? Hah! This is English we’re talkin’ about. And this one always confuses the heck out of me . . . because it’s a homophone ! Yep, both words are almost spelled the same, they sound the same, and they almost mean the same thing.
Earth is a planet. It’s a proper noun. Of course it should be capitalized! Except . . .
A capped Earth is more of a rare bird and should only be capitalized when “in polite company”. In other words, when Earth is hobnobbing with the other planets. And no, the sun and the moon are not considered planets.
So if you’re writing a novel that spans planes of existence, you might want to consider coming up with an alternative term for earth. One example I can think of off the top of my head is Yasmine Galenorn’s Otherworld series in which she refers to the human plane of existence as Earthside. Don’cha just love English when you can make up your own words . . .*grin*
Andy Hollandbeck “notes that an easy tell is if you feel the need to include the with earth. Earth as a proper noun can exist all by itself, but earth, as a common noun, usually needs the earth” (Hollandbeck).
Garner agrees: “In reference to the planet we live on, earth is usually preceded by the and is not capitalized. . . . when Earth is referred to as a proper noun, it is capitalized and usually stands alone.”
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. Nor is it just words that get confused, sometimes there are questions as to what and when to capitalize a word. In general, these are questions that come up when I’m proofreading or editing someone’s work, and I want a note for myself or an easy reference to which I can point the author, and it has evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| earth | Earth |
|---|---|
ICE-S Geisberg Dreckig is Sebastian Terflothvia’s own work under the CC-SA-2.5 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — There’s earth stretching out for miles. |
Solar System montage by NASA/JPL is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — Par-tay time . . . for Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and all the rest! |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: earths Third person present verb: earths |
Proper Noun
Plural: Earth |
| Never capitalize it when preceded by the
Noun: Surface of our planet Soil One of the four elements in ancient and medieval philosophy and in astrology Substance of the human body in a poetic or literary sense Underground lair or habitation of a badger or fox [British electrical term] Ground Verb, intransitive: [Used of a hunted animal] To burrow or hide in the ground Verb, transitive: [Hunting] Drive (a fox) to its underground lair [British; electrical term] Ground |
Capitalize when mentioned as a specific planet or in connection with other capitalized heavenly bodies
Name of a planet, a celestial body |
| Examples: | |
| Noun: The comet landed somewhere on earth. The foxes went to earth. Why on earth did you put that on? Wow, George, the earth moved! They looked like nothing on earth! Who on earth would want to eat that? Okay, Mary, you have to come back to earth. Verb, intransitive: You could get a nasty shock from that water heater if it isn’t earthed properly. She’s earthing, tapping into the electrical energy of the earth. Verb, transitive: They earthed the fox under Jones’ hedgerows. Did you earth that plug? |
Earth is located between Mars and Venus.
It takes six to eight months to travel from Earth to Mars. It is further from Earth to Mars than it is from Mercury to the Sun. Within the solar system, the terrestrial planets are the inner planets closest to the sun, i.e., Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: earthly, earthier, earthiest, earthy, superearthly, unearthly Adverb: earthily Noun: earthiness, earthliness, unearthliness |
|
| History of the Word: | |
| Old English eorthe is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch aarde and the German Erde. | |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for earth versus Earth
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Apple Dictionary.com
Cambridge: earth
Garner, Bryan. Garner’s Modern American Usage, Third Edition. n.d. Web. n.d. <https://amzn.to/3Dfoe3B>.
Hollandbeck, Andy. “When is Earth a Proper Noun?” Copyediting.com. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://bit.ly/3NZF9KI>.
Skillin, Marjorie E., Robert M. Gay, and other authorities. Words into Type. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1974. Third edition. Print.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Compost, 8 June 2007, by suavehouse113 is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via VisualHunt. The swirl of planets is in a post “Cosmic Debate: What’s Up With the Planets?” and is in the public domain courtesy of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
