terr-, terra-, -ter

(Latin: earth, dry land, land)

This unit presents many words that are used in references having to do with earth and land; that is, the loose, fragmented material that composes part of the surface of this planet that we live on.

Don't confuse this element with other words that are spelled in a similar way; such as, terrify, terrible.

circumterrestrial (adjective) (not comparable)
Regarding something that revolves around or surrounds the Earth: The Moon is a good example of a circumterrestrial planet which orbits around the Earth.
disinter (verb), disinters; disinterred; disinterring
1. To dig up or to remove from a grave or a tomb; to exhume: In the detective story Jenny was reading, Mabel, the leading character, was disinterred in order to have her body re-examined to find out what really caused her death.
2. To bring to public notice; to disclose: Janice was able to disinter an ancient document about Julius Caesar that has been missing from public knowledge for centuries.
To take out of a grave or a tomb, to exhume.
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disinterment (s) (noun), disinterments (pl)
The act of digging up something, especially a corpse that has been buried; exhumation: A disinterment of old Mrs. Smith was officially ordered in order to prove if she died by cancer or if she was killed.
exoterroid (s) (noun), exoterroids (pl)
1. Any fragment of terrestrial crust launched into space: When accompanied by sufficient magma from the mantle, such ejecta of <(>exoterroids form globes.

The word exoterroid is a general term for each moon, asteroid, comet, meteor, and hydrometeor that had its origin on Earth.

2. Etymology: from Greek and Latin: "form out of the earth".
Exoterroid was coined by Stephen M. Alvis in his book,
Exploding Earth; Ironrod Explorations, publisher, 1st ed.;
Mesa, Arizona; 1991; page 375.
extraterrestrial (s) (noun), extraterrestrials (pl)
A form of life assumed to exist outside the Earth or its atmosphere: There are those who claim that there are extraterrestrials that come from other planets or other outer-space places.
extraterrestrial (adjective), more extraterrestrial, most extraterrestrial
1. Referring to the existence, location, or occurrence outside the Earth or its atmosphere in outer space: Ted loved to read fictional books describing extraterrestrial life beyond the realms of the Milky Way.
2. A reference to an object originating from sources other than the Earth: One example is the extraterrestrial sun, which is a star providing energy and light to support life on this planet.
Relating to something that is outside the physical world and not of this world.
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extraterrestrial radiation (s) (noun), extraterrestrial radiations (pl)
The ideal amount of global horizontal radiation that a location on Earth would receive if there were no intervening atmosphere or clouds and used as the reference amount to which actual solar energy measurements are compared: Extraterrestrial radiation, known as “top-of-atmosphere” (TOA) and abbreviated as ETR, is a global radiation and is the sum of diffuse and direct radiation.
extraterritorial (adjective), more extraterritorial, most extraterritorial
1. Pertaining to a location outside a country's boundaries: In the story, James was caught fishing in extraterritorial waters which did not belong to the kingdom where he lived and so he was not allowed to go fishing there again!
2. Of or relating to people who are exempt from the legal jurisdiction of the country in which they reside: An ambassador, or someone from the embassy of one country, has extraterritorial rights that are free of the legal authority of the nation in which he or she lives.
extraterritoriality (s) (noun), extraterritorialities (pl)
Immunity from and not subject to local legal jurisdictions: As a foreign diplomat, Mrs. Hudson  was granted extraterritoriality, and so she was exempt from the laws of the nation where she was recently assigned to serve as an ambassador.
extraterritorially (adverb), more extraterritorially, most extraterritorially
Referring to where something is located: Mr. Smith's new job was situated extraterritorially, or outside his own country.
fluvioterrestrial (adjective) (not comparable)
Referring to land and fresh water: Some animals lead fluvioterrestrial lives in streams and on land, but not in seas or oceans.

Lots of plants flourish in fluvioterrestrial areas on land, but not in maritime waters.

inter (verb), inters; interred; interring
To place in a grave or into a tomb; to bury: At the funeral, old Mr. Jackson, who had passed away, was interred in the town's cemetery.
interment (s) (noun), interments (pl)
The act or ritual of interring or burying in the ground or in a tomb: The interment was planned for a Saturday when all of the family members could be there for the last farewell.
lex terrae (Latin statement)
The law of the land: Lex terrae, or legem terrae, refer to all of the laws in force inside a nation or area, as well as state laws and case-made laws.
mediterranean (adjective), more mediterranean, most mediterranean
Regarding a large body of water that is surrounded nearly or completely by dry land: Mediterranean regions are great Lakes or seas within dry land.

Whenever you hear the word mediterranean, do you think of that specific place and perhaps of the great cultures that have surrounded it? You should know that the word can also apply to any large body of water that is surrounded completely or almost completely by dry land. This usage goes back to the use in Late Latin of the Latin word mediterraneus, the source of our word, as part of the name Mediterraneum mare for the mostly landlocked Mediterranean Sea.

Keep in mind that Latin mediterraneus, which is derived from medius, "the middle of, the heart of," and terra, "land", in Classical Latin actually meant "remote from the coast, inland".

In Late Latin, in referring to the sea, mediterraneus probably originally meant "in the middle of the earth" rather than "surrounded by land", because to the Mediterranean cultures without knowledge of much of the earth, the Mediterranean Sea was in the center of the world. Our word mediterranean is first recorded in English, in 1594, as the name of the sea.

—Based on information from the American Heritage dictionary

Cross references of word families related directly, or indirectly, to: "land, ground, fields, soil, dirt, mud, clay, earth (world)": agra-; agrest-; agri-; agro-; argill-; choro-; chthon-; epeiro-; geo-; glob-; lut-; myso-; pedo-; pel-; rhyp-; soil-; sord-.