Earthling
/ˈɜːrθlɪŋ/noun
A person or other living being from Earth.
Did you know?Earthling is an Old English-style formation built with the native suffix -ling, which often marked a person associated with something—sometimes neutrally, sometimes with a hint of smallness or descent.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
eorþling
“an inhabitant of the earth; a person of the earthly world”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*erþō
“earth, ground, soil”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*-lingaz
“a person or thing associated with, descended from, or characterized by something”
Middle English
ME
ertheling
“an earthly person; mortal, human inhabitant of the world”
Modern English
English
earthling
“a person or other living being from Earth”