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Is "Earth" the right name for our planet?
Posted by pillownaut • 8/25/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: earth planet name biosphere
I always thought "Earth" was an odd name. Our biosphere is roughly 70% ocean, 30% landmass. So hey, if we’re trying to be descriptive, shouldn’t we be named for “Water” instead?
EARTH: Middle English erthe, from Old English eorthe; Indo-European roots akin to Crimean Goth airtha, Old German erda, Greek era
WATER: Old English wæter; akin to Old High German wazzar, Greek hydor or hudor, Latin unda wave
The Greek word for water now survives as the prefix hydro- as in words like hydrogen or hydration. But with the widespread ‘borrowing’ of languages, perhaps we might even be Wazer or Wave? I bet if more had been known about the planet’s properties during the time of its ultimate naming, we might be.
If we changed our planet name now, what would be more descriptive?
User Comments
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Mess? -
My guess is the 30 % landmass is only the part sticking out of the water.
What do you have at the bottom of the ocean? More earth? -
I think we have more important matters than trying to figure out a modern name for our planet. What lies under the oceans? More dirt.-
Why so nasty? My point was that the planet was named for a certain perception and that overall knowledge has changed. The 70/30 split is a well-known statistic of the overall Earth surface.
We certainly have more important matters to worry about that 99% percent of the discussions brought up on BC, why pick on me? The discussion you answered right before mine was about what you LUST after and about how you write about LUST and BBQ on your blog. But I am not allowed to ask a rhetorical question about etymology?
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i always though the name should start with Sector; like Sector Z8474895-AJ1248_X
Babylon 5 would do also. -
LOL, I am sure if we re-named now, it would definitely be something like that, based on all the cosmological information we've gathered. Good point! Not only might a name be based on our properties, but what we know about our location now... (small as that still is!)
Thank you for contributing with good humor & manners
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thank you =)
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It's always fascinated me that we're the one planet not named after a Latin deity. Earth, in my mind, somehow has become synonymous with "home." I think of it more that way than representing land mass or surface. So I'd like to stick with that name. -
Which came first:
"Earth" meaning the planet/world
or
"earth" meaning dirt/land-
Good point! I'd venture a guess that it was dirt/land first, and such was applied to all creation where humans lived in a colloquial sense... perhaps when it came time to invent a written symbol of some kind?
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It doesn't matter...sooner or later this planet will be a 'waterworld'. Seriously! -
The 71/29 split only applies to the earth's surface. It is thus a misnomer to claim that the earth is 71 % water, as it only applies to the surface.
Besides, we call it earth because we largely live on the earth part.-
Well if we're going to split hairs, it's actually 70.78% to 29.22% -- though I originally rounded because that wasn't the point, and still isn't. The point was early assumptions versus current knowledge.
There is no misnomer. I specified "surface" above, and also specified "biosphere" in the original post... i.e. the ecosystems zone and not the planetary composition, which would include core materials. This is not about elements. This is about perception -
Then clearly there is a misnomer, as biosphere refers to the global sum of all ecosystems, of which the hydrosphere comprises a very small component. The biosphere is not limited to the surface area of the earth and is thought to comprise of hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere.
I wasn't splitting hairs over the 70/30 breakdown. I merely pointed out that this breakdown only refers to the surface.
If you are referring to the biosphere (ie the sum of all ecosystems), you have to take more than merely the earth's surface into account. Water actually comprises only 0,023 % of the Earth by mass (this includes the entire hydrosphere's water - surface area and vapour, the works) despite comprising about 70 % (or 71, whichever you prefer) of the surface.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrosphere
By focusing on the hydrosphere, you have to incorporate more than merely the surface area. You also fail to take the lithosphere and the atmosphere into account. Since you claim that your argument is based on the biosphere, you have to consider these too. -
You are making yourself look foolish. Again, there is no misnomer. And again, this is about perception, knowledge, etymology.
Your hair-splitting has nothing to do with the point. This isn't about how the hydrosphere factors into full PLANETARY MASS. Do not insert tangents into my question. I’m aware of the biosphere’s complexity and how it interacts, but had I chosen to break down every detailed layer, the question itself would have been pages long. Dozens of people understood the question and answered pleasantly as a community. You’re the only one not “getting it.”
LOL, you yourself just repeated that the 70/30 breakdown refers to the surface of landmass/ocean (which is what I have said TWICE now) and are basically arguing over nothing. This is a well-known ratio. Honestly, I will never understand people like you. -
biosphere: the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the Earth (or other planet) where living organisms exist.
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=biosphere
This is not a new angle. Biosphere is a word that you had used, clearly without knowing what it meant. -
LOL, you poor little thing... I know what the biosphere is, and your laughable rushing around to research split-hairs doesn't counteract anything about my point. Even if you weren't babbling about nothing, I said "roughly" and rounded. Why would I get all technical when all I wished was to ask a rhetorical naming question?
Again, you're the lone person not getting it. Given that you made "flaming" a part of your name, I guess that's just your MO. I've seen you in other discussions, trying to spread your negativity. You are not worth refuting further; you're just trying to save face now, and it shows.
I would like to thank all the people who ignored this preposterous garbage over simple generalizations, and continued on the with the discussion in good humor and understanding, to have a fruitful conversation -
You're not going to get it, are you?
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Did you feel that tremor in the force? Yeah that was me laughing and holding up a mirror facing toward the flamer boy. And now, this is me losing interest. When’s the last time you actually contributed something to a discussion other than attacks or chauvenism? Try to find something more constructive on which to spend your time.
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I think we should call it "tool," because it's our tool. -
We have friends that named their chihuahua "Paul" because they heard someone on a TV show make fun of people who name their pet dogs human names .. we can do that for the planet Earth ..
I vote for .. "Planet Melvin" -
we've been using greek, latin.... for all the names. try some other languages -
I think it came from the word "erthe" which means ground. If you think about it there is ground on every other planet. But in the entire solar system this is the only planet that supports and breeds life, or at least, thats how it appears from what we know.
Maybe that's why we call this mass of land Mother earth.
lol... just a thought. -
Ah! It Does Not Matter... -
I prefer the term "large spherical mass of mostly rocks, gas, and water."-
Can we rename it "Core of Molten Goo"?
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Only if we can have an automated voice, ala Austin Poweers, that says "warm liquid goo phase complete."
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what about "the world" -
Duuude! We c'n name it weed... yeah-ha! -
How about "Planet Bob?"-
LOL that made me burst out laughing, seriously
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I think Earth should become "Sol 3". Describing our place in our star system, what we call a solar system. Like Yavin 4 from Star Wars....yeah I'm a geek, what ya gunna do?
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or Azuris 5 from Justice league -
Think Earth was also referred to as SOL 3 in Doctor Who -
Doctor Who MIGHT, just MIGHT have been where I stole that idea from...:P
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*Blog inspiration* thank you!
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LOL, you're welcome. Can't wait to see what you write
Re: your profile comment about the theory of relativity and light speed. Check out the book "Faster Than The Speed of Light" by cosmologist João Magueijo. You may find the varying speed of light (VSL) theory fascinating.
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Beauteous Globe ? Earth's just fine by me, kinda used to it. I will agree I have given the name some thought throughout my existence and figured someone simply named it before being privvy to the rest of the planets elements. -
Does this not make everything fall into a better perspective?
Just how important are we? VERY. Look at all the work that went into The Divine Intelligence all about us. Makes one think.-
That sun looks like a peach -
maybe it IS a peach, and in a parallel universe James dropped all the magical beans on the peach, and it turned out that big, and that's what happened.
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Because the sun is well ... The Sun and very hot, this is only a drawing to elaborate on the tiny planet upon which we reside. Think about the tiniest thing you have ever seen and then reflect on how perfect it is. WOW!
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This example makes me think we should call it Spot. -
Although on the flip side, the sun is also very uniform, while earth is much more diverse, and it's not like we don't benefit from its existence. See, the sun would be more like a bulk order of Steel from a mill costing $50 while the Earth would be more like a finely cut diamond for $500.
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A 1 out of 8 rate for planets in our solar system to support our kind of diverse life is not a very divine rate. Sounds more like dumb luck to me.
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@drjalee52: or blip...
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the way things are going we could call it FUBAR soon-
That's what the military would call it. Us normal folks would call it "Oops."
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Lets just be glad we don't live on Uranus!-
... or yours either! hahahahahahahahahahaha
Disclaimer. Only said for the pure good humor. Be carefree ... Wheee -
That is just sick... I was talking about the planet! What is wrong with you!
/sarcasm -
Eyes wide and innocent. Uh ... UM ... I forgot. Runs away in a hurry.
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Running wont solve any problems...
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What! Are you going to stalk me? I can run very very very quickly. I'm telling ... Mom!
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Not mom!!
AND
I don't stalk... I follow in the shadows and dig through garbage. It's completely different.
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Who had the naming rights anyway?-
That... is a fantastic question
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careful! Given the absurdity of the Ralph Lauren "Polo" ruling, Earth2O might sue
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What about nitrogen?-
Dumb
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uh...smart
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Welcome to planet Nitrogen!
Dumb -
We could call it "Nitro" for short. Is that hip enough for you and the cool police?
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Dumb
This isn't the fast and furious! -
Tokyo Drift? Screw that, man, we've got Continental Drift. Straight gangster.
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Planet Awesome.
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Planet Awesome...
I can see the t-shirts already. -
Seconded.
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I always liked this show and I think the title is very appropriate...
the third rock from the Sun-
Yep I like that -
I like it too.
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Dirt?
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I prefer "soil", "dirt" is too dirty
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soylent?
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green?
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Yup, Earth is fine. Don't see why not. -
I like Earth, I think it has a nice ring to it. -
I'm changing my vote to "Cybertron."
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haha! funny. if we change our planet's name that will entail changing a whole lot dating back from the very beginning when this planet was uninhabited! -
We should probably ask the insects what they think, since they do outnumber us vastly.
Or, we could just go with "Insectia"-
You stole not only my comment, but my blog concept! Yes, I do agree on seeing from different angles, because they lead to insights missed by regular approaches
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I'd go with Skaron 6 it's quite cool and any aliens would have to be mad to attempt to invade a planet called Skaron 6. -
Temporary Home -
I think it doesn't really matter. I mean, we call it Earth now, right? Still, maybe it came from what they called the ground before we had named our planet. No...it probably comes from Latin roots. The planet's name probably came first, then the ground. Since we can't live on water, really, I think Earth makes more sense. And if we gave a poll to change the planet's name...that would be just awful. We'd be stuck calling Earth "Planet Stupid" or something.
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"Earth and Seas" -
Earth, Terra, Zemlja, etc
Big long list here www.nineplanets.org/days.html
Polybore has always thought that Terra had a nice ring to it.-
that is an AWESOME list, i think i'll link to that from my blog...
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I think we should call it center of the universe, and then arbitrarily expands certain parts of the barriers of the universe to make this true.
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Sector Z8474895-AJ1248_X sounds about right. -
wahh,... I like it too,.. -
whatever of name, keep it, save it coz we life and stay here
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How about "Mars"? Sounds much better, wierd how we gave all the cute names to our neighbours and kept the stupidest name to ourselves. -
Earth is nice but we could have always went with something like BOB -
I knew it, real name of our planet is Cybertron -
But mud is everywhere (well in most places), not only here. But what's in a name? we name things according to what we are familiar with. And our familiarity has not evolved so much as to really look into renaming the planet just my opinion coz I am not much into space travels and pretty much live here. And I aint no marine creature either so no oceanworld for me
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It will forever be Sol III to me. -
in my language we call it dunia or zameen i think it is the best word for it.
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Those are beautiful
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If we rename it then the Aliens will have to go through a long process of correcting and updating their records of us.
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