- of or relating to the earth
- (esp in science fiction) an inhabitant of the earth
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
tel•lu•ri•an1
(te lŏŏr′ē ən),USA pronunciation adj.
n.
tel•lu•ri•an2 (te lŏŏr′ē ən),USA pronunciation n.
- of or characteristic of the earth or its inhabitants;
terrestrial.
n.
- an inhabitant of the earth.
- Latin tellūr- (stem of tellūs) earth + -ian
- 1840–50
tel•lu•ri•an2 (te lŏŏr′ē ən),USA pronunciation n.
- Astronomytellurion.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
tellurian /tɛˈlʊərɪən/ adj
tel•lu•ri•on
(te lŏŏr′ē on′),USA pronunciation n.
- Astronomyan apparatus for showing the manner in which the diurnal rotation and annual revolution of the earth and the obliquity of its axis produce the alternation of day and night and the changes of the seasons.
- Latin tellūr- (stem of tellūs) earth + Greek -ion diminutive suffix
- 1825–35
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
tellurion, tellurian /tɛˈlʊərɪən/ n
- an instrument that shows how day and night and the seasons result from the tilt of the earth, its rotation on its axis, and its revolution around the sun
'tellurian' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):