telluric
1 Americanadjective
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of or relating to the earth; terrestrial.
-
of or proceeding from the earth or soil.
adjective
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of, relating to, or originating on or in the earth or soil; terrestrial, esp in reference to natural electrical or magnetic fields
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astronomy (of spectral lines or bands) observed in the spectra of celestial objects and caused by oxygen, water vapour, and carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere
adjective
Etymology
Origin of telluric1
1830–40; < Latin tellūr- (stem of tellūs ) earth + -ic
Origin of telluric2
First recorded in 1790–1800; tellur(ium) + -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The effective resolving power of each observation was obtained from fits to unsaturated telluric absorption lines and yielded mean values of 4,290, 8,150 and 5,750 in the ultraviolet B, visible and near-infrared arms, respectively.
From Nature • Oct. 15, 2017
Each night, immediately following the observations of the scientific standard, telluric standard stars were also observed, at an airmass comparable to the target airmass.
From Nature • Oct. 15, 2017
Maya used to read the dictionary with her beloved grandfather, something we're reminded of when she drops words such as "lapidary" and "telluric".
From The Guardian • May 30, 2013
The commander's suspicions are aroused when Morbius discloses that all the other colonists were murdered by a telluric demon that seems to inhabit the planet.
From Time Magazine Archive
Religions, schools of ethics, philosophy, metaphysics, art, political and juridical institutions are all to be explained in the last analysis by the economic and telluric environments, present and past.
From Socialism: Positive and Negative by La Monte, Robert Rives
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
