Earthly
adj, adv, noun, slang ·2 syllables ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 That which is of the earth or earthly; a terrestrial being. collective, in-plural
"He claims that the book directs the believer to let go of the earthly and await God's kingdom in the heavenly."
- 2 A slightest chance (of success etc.) or idea (about something). UK, colloquial
"He arched his eyebrows over the summons. "The poor devil has not an earthly!" said he. "He's lucky to have a summons. Usually they act on a warrant.""
- 1 Relating to the earth or this world, as opposed to heaven; terrestrial.
"earthly joys"
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of earthly (“relating to the Earth”). alt-of
"Except at Trenco’s very poles there is not a spot in which or a time at which an Earthly gale would not constitute a dead calm; […] The wind was now scarcely more than an Earthly hurricane; […] its smaller stars, brilliant to Earthly eyes only because of their nearness, would be dimmer, perhaps invisible; […]"
- 3 Used for emphasis informal, negative
"The pressures of politics and war seem remote on this lovely stretch of California coastline, but last week there was no earthly way to avoid them."
- 4 Made of earth; earthy. obsolete
"We have this[…]treasure in frail, brittle, and earthly vessels."
- 1 of or belonging to or characteristic of this earth as distinguished from heaven wordnet
- 1 in an earthly manner.
"But earthlyer happy is the roſe diſtild, / Then that, vvhich, vvithering on the virgin thorne, / Grovves, liues, and dies, in ſingle bleſſedneſſe."
Example
More examples"Your plan is of no earthly use."
Etymology
From Middle English erthely, erthlich, ierðlich, from Old English eorþlīċ, corresponding to earth + -ly. Cognate with Old Norse jarðligr (“earthly”).
By surface analysis, Earth + -ly.
Related phrases
More for "earthly"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.