Tellurian adj.
of, relating to, or living on Earth
The OED records examples from 1786 onwards in the sense ‘of or relating to the earth; earthly, terrestrial’, without referring to Earth in contrast to other planets.
Demonyms
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1880
Even at this distance I could discern that its streets were of remarkable width, with few or no buildings so high as mosques, churches, State-offices, or palaces in Tellurian cities.
Across Zodiac (1974) 84
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1930
Gawain Edwards
I spread my wings and brought it here to you, as swiftly as I could pass through the Tellurian air.
in Sci. Wonder Stories Feb. 778/1
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1930 Amazing Stories Quarterly Winter 29/1
The space-ports at the three great cities, were, of course, occupied or blockaded by the Tellurian fleets; and Doane was obliged to make his bases of operations the lonely craters that once had been pirate strongholds.
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1943
page image
C. S. Lewis
bibliography
We had eldila of our own, he said, Tellurian eldils, but they were of a different kind and mostly hostile to Man.
Perelandra (1944) 4
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1943
page image
C. S. Lewis
bibliography
I did not doubt the existence of the things he had met in Mars—the Pfifltriggi, the Hrossa, and the Sorns—nor of these interplanetary eldila. I did not even doubt the reality of that mysterious being whom the eldil call Maleldil and to whom they appear to give a total obedience such as no Tellurian dictator can command.
Perelandra (1944) 8
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1948
Edward E. Smith
Like two high executives of a Tellurian corporation discussing business affairs during a chance meeting at one of their clubs, Eddore’s All Highest and Gharlane, his second in command, were having the Eddorian equivalent of an after-business-hours chat.
Triplanetary (1973) 34
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1967
As with most Tellurian ghettos, the enclave on Lhonz 4 kept an academy, a building with two floors, in contrast to the habitations surrounding it. It was solid and impressive, built of native red stone and furnished with the usual heavy tapestries and large fireplaces found in the ghetto. Lhonz 4 was a small, cold world, hereditarily inhabited by humanoids more notable for their hirsuteness than for their doubtful attractiveness. Relations between the locals and the sons of Tellus, the death merchants, were strictly on a cash basis. But the Tellurians had to make do with Lhonz. Few worlds relish the establishment of a race with a reputation for viciousness and undoubted possession of weapons in advance of anything in the galaxy.
Wandering Tellurian 5
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1968
The time-wave, that mysterious force which travels through time, the fourth dimension, will be discovered in the year 2806, just after the second terrible Martio-Tellurian War.
in Amazing Stories Sept. 112/1
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1968
Edward E. Smith
Heartless and bloodthirsty Osnomian though she was, Sitar had gone to join the two Tellurian women.
Skylark Three 50
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1997
The workers have a life expectancy only slightly longer than a Tellurian gnat.
Legends of Ferengi 148
Research requirements
antedating 1880
Earliest cite
Percy Greg, "Across the Zodiac"
Research History
David Tate submitted a cite from a 1962 reprint of C.S. Lewis' "Perelandra".Malcolm Farmer submitted a cite from a 1972 reprint of E.E. Smith's "Triplanetary"; Jesse Sheidlower checked the original appearance in Amazing Stories in 1934, and the cite isn't found there.
Rick Hauptmann submitted a 1931 cite from Miles Breuer and Jack Williamson's "The Birth of a New Republic".
Cory Panshin submitted a cite from a 1968 reprint of E.E. Smith's "Skylark Three".
Cory Panshin submitted a cite from a 1968 reprint of Charles Cloukey's "Paradox"; we would like to check the 1929 original appearance in Amazing Quarterly.
Daniel Frankham submitted a cite from a 1974 reprint of Percy Greg's "Across the Zodiac"; we would like to check the 1880 first edition.
Jeff Prucher submitted a 1930 cite from Gawain Edwards "A Rescue From Jupiter".
Fred Galvin submitted a 1967 cite from Alan Schwartz's "The Wandering Tellurian".
Last modified 2022-12-12 13:29:03
In the compilation of some
entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries
in OED.