earthling

American  

[urth-ling] / ˈɜrθ lɪŋ /

noun

1. an inhabitant of earth; mortal.

2. worldling.

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earthling British  

/ ˈɜːθlɪŋ /

noun

1. (esp in poetry or science fiction) an inhabitant of the earth; human being

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Etymology

Origin of earthling

First recorded in 1585–95; earth + -ling ¹

Explanation

An earthling is someone who lives on the planet Earth. In science fiction books and movies, people are called earthlings to distinguish them from aliens. E.T. was definitely not an earthling. You're most likely to come across the word earthling in fiction, since we more often refer to ourselves as "people" or "humans," assuming that we are all from Earth. In science fiction, though, some characters come from other planets or galaxies and aren't actually earthlings. Earthling has an Old English root, yrþling, or "plowman," and in 1949 the author Robert Heinlein first used earthling in a science fiction context.

Example Sentences

“I am an earthling — after that I’m galactic and then I’m universal,” Alejandro Jodorowsky tells me in Spanish from his home in Paris during a recent video call.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2024

The post-SBF world, which arrived in tandem with the explosion of ChatGPT, would not be tethered to such puny earthling ventures.

From Slate • Nov. 20, 2023

But with little conclusive evidence expected to confirm any intergalactic visitations, it remains to be seen whether any earthling minds will change.

From BBC • Jun. 22, 2021

So if we're identifying as an earthling, they might call it something else.

From Salon • Nov. 19, 2020

But Ino saw him—Ino, Kadmos’ daughter, slim-legged, lovely, once an earthling girl, now in the seas a nereid, Leukothea.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer