Earthling

Earthling is a term commonly used in science fiction to identify Earth born organisms as opposed to extraterrestrials. Similar terms used in some science fiction stories are Terran and Gaian.

History

Historically the term "earthling" referred to a mortal inhabitant of the Earth as opposed to spiritual or divine entities. In Early Modern English, the word was used with the intention of contrasting "earth" with "heaven", and so presenting man as an inhabitant of the sublunary sphere, as opposed to heavenly creatures or deities. The derivation from the noun earth by means of the suffix -ling is already seen in Old English eyrþling, in the meaning "ploughman". The sense of "inhabitant of earth" is first attested in 1593. Its use in science fiction dates to 1949, in Red Planet by Robert A. Heinlein.

Modern use

Its modern use in science fiction literature contrasts "Earth" (the planet) with outer space or hypothetical other planets with sapient life. The term was often used in 1950s science fiction film and novels by aliens to express a disdainful or patronising tone towards creatures from Earth. The meaning "creature from planet Earth" in the context of space travel may be extended to non-human species, as in "Russia fetes dog Laika, first earthling in space".

Terran

Terran may refer to:

Fiction

Terran (demonym) is demonym derived from terra, the Latin term for Earth.

Literature

Television

Gaming

Mondeuse noire

Mondeuse noire is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Savoy region of eastern France. The grape can also be found in Argentina, Australia, California, Switzerland and Sicily. Plantings of Mondeuse noire was hit hard during the phylloxera epidemic of the mid to late 19th century which nearly wiped out the vine from eastern France. While the grape recovered slightly in the 20th century, French plantations of Mondeuse noire fell sharply in the 1970s, with just over 200 hectares (490 acres) left in France in 2000. In the early 21st century, it seems the variety has increased somewhat in popularity, as it can give good wines if the planting site is chosen carefully.

It was previously suggested than Mondeuse noire was identical to the northern Italian wine grape variety Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso due to the similarity of the wines. In California, many plantings of Mondeuse noire were called Refosco, further adding to the confusion. DNA analysis has shown that this is not the case, and that the two varieties are unrelated. Mondeuse noire is very similar to Muscardin which is found in Southern Rhône where it is one of the thirteen grape varieties permitted in the wine Châteauneuf-du-Pape. One difference is that Muscardin has less sensitivity to downy mildew.

Human

Modern humans (Homo sapiens, primarily ssp. Homo sapiens sapiens) are the only extant members of Hominina clade (or human clade), a branch of the taxonomical tribe Hominini belonging to the family of great apes. They are characterized by erect posture and bipedal locomotion, manual dexterity and increased tool use, and a general trend toward larger, more complex brains and societies.

Early hominins—particularly the australopithecines, whose brains and anatomy are in many ways more similar to ancestral non-human apes—are less often referred to as "human" than hominins of the genus Homo. Some of the latter used fire, occupied much of Eurasia, and gave rise to anatomically modern Homo sapiens in Africa about 200,000 years ago. They began to exhibit evidence of behavioral modernity around 50,000 years ago, and migrated in successive waves to occupy all but the smallest, driest, and coldest lands.

The spread of humans and their large and increasing population has had a profound impact on large areas of the environment and millions of native species worldwide. Advantages that explain this evolutionary success include a relatively larger brain with a particularly well-developed neocortex, prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes, which enable high levels of abstract reasoning, language, problem solving, sociality, and culture through social learning. Humans use tools to a much higher degree than any other animal, are the only extant species known to build fires and cook their food, and are the only extant species to clothe themselves and create and use numerous other technologies and arts.