<B>earthmoving, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with the excavation and transportation of large quantities of earth. <BR> <I>Ex. earthmoving machinery; ... excavating and crane equipment for earthmoving and construction operations (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="earthnut">
<B>earthnut, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an underground part of certain plants, such as a root, tuber, or underground pod. <BR> <I>Ex. Peanuts, truffles, and pignuts are earthnuts.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any plant that produces such a root or tuber. </DL>
<A NAME="earthpea">
<B>earthpea, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a vine of the pea family whose pods ripen underground like peanuts; hog peanut. </DL>
<A NAME="earthpig">
<B>earth pig,</B> =aardvark.</DL>
<A NAME="earthpillar">
<B>earth pillar,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Geology.) a column of loose, unconsolidated material usually covered with stone at the top, produced by erosion of surrounding land. </DL>
<B>earthquake, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a shaking or sliding of the ground. It is caused by the sudden movement of masses of rock along a fault or by changes in the size and shape of masses of rock far beneath the earth's surface. Earthquakes are often associated with the violent activity of volcanoes. <BR> <I>Ex. Earthquakes can destroy whole cities.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="earthquaking">
<B>earthquaking, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>causing the earth to shake. <BR> <I>Ex. an earthquaking rumble.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=earthshaking.</B> <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=earthquaky.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="earthquaky">
<B>earthquaky, </B>adjective, <B>-quakier,</B> <B>-quakiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>subject to earthquakes. <BR> <I>Ex. an earthquaky country.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>like the effect of an earthquake; suggesting the motion of an earthquake. <BR> <I>Ex. an earthquaky feeling.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="earthresourcessatellite">
<B>earth resources satellite,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an artificial satellite that gathers data on the earth's natural resources. <BR> <I>Ex. The use of Landsat and other earth resources satellites is booming, not only among research scientists but among farmers, explorers, and a growing number of businessmen as well (Timothy Hackler).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="earthrise">
<B>earthrise, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a view of the earth from the moon or from a spacecraft, in which the earth seems to be rising above the moon's horizon. </DL>
<A NAME="earthsatellite">
<B>earth satellite,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a satellite of the earth made by man, especially a metal sphere or other structure, launched by rockets into an orbit outside the earth's atmosphere. </DL>
<A NAME="earthscape">
<B>earthscape, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a view of the earth from outer space. </DL>
<A NAME="earthscience">
<B>earth science,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of the sciences dealing with the origin, composition, and physical features of the earth and its atmosphere. Geology, geography, meteorology, and oceanography are earth sciences. </DL>
<A NAME="earthscientist">
<B>earth scientist,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a person trained or skilled in one or more of the earth sciences. </DL>
<A NAME="earthshaker">
<B>earthshaker, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an earthshaking person, thing, or event. <DD><B> 2. </B>Also, <B>Earthshaker.</B> a name applied to Poseidon and (less often) Zeus. </DL>
<A NAME="earthshaking">
<B>earthshaking, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> great or important to an unusual degree. <BR> <I>Ex. The race for state legislature seats, ordinarily not an earthshaking matter for non-Californians, this year has unusual significance (Wall Street Journal).</I> adv. <B>earthshakingly.</B> </DL>
<B>earthshine, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the faint light visible on the part of the moon not directly illuminated by the sun; earthlight. It is due to light the earth reflects on the moon and is best seen about four days before or four days after the new moon. </DL>
<A NAME="earthshock">
<B>earthshock, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=earthquake.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>a movement of the ground caused by an underground explosion. </DL>
<A NAME="earthshoe">
<B>earth shoe,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a shoe whose sole is thicker in front than in back, designed to lower the heel below the rest of the foot for greater comfort. <BR> <I>Ex. She got rid of the demure blue patent pumps she had been wearing and substituted earth shoes, supremely comfortable but odd-looking (Maclean's).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>Earth Shoe,</B> a trademark for such a shoe. </DL>
<B>earthstar, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a fungus whose outer covering splits into the form of a star. </DL>
<A NAME="earthstation">
<B>earth station,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a station on earth equipped with electronic apparatus to receive and rebroadcast signals transmitted from outer space. </DL>
<A NAME="earthtide">
<B>earth tide,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the gravitational pull of the moon and sun on the earth, causing tidelike motions of the earth's crust several inches high. From the amount of distortion of the solid rocks by earth tides, the rigidity of the earth can be calculated. </DL>
<A NAME="earthward">
<B>earthward, </B>adverb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> toward the earth. <BR> <I>Ex. The burning airplane hurtled earthward (adv). The spacecraft started its earthward descent (adj.).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="earthwards">
<B>earthwards, </B>adverb. =earthward.</DL>
<A NAME="earthwave">
<B>earth wave,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a seismic wave in the solid crust of the earth. </DL>
<A NAME="earthweek">
<B>Earth Week,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a week in April set aside for expression of public concern over the pollution of the earth's atmosphere. </DL>
<A NAME="earthwoman">
<B>earthwoman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-women.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a woman of the planet earth; a female earthling. </DL>
<A NAME="earthwork">
<B>earthwork, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a bank of earth piled up for a fortification. <BR> <I>Ex. Captain Pilkington ... asked the Minister of Works what action he was taking to preserve ancient barrows and earthworks (London Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a moving of earth in engineering operations. <DD><B> 3. </B>a work of art made by shaping or altering any natural feature of the environment, such as a piece of land or a sand dune, the finished work usually being exhibited in photographs. </DL>
<A NAME="earthworker">
<B>earthworker, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an artist who makes earthworks. </DL>
<A NAME="earthworm">
<B>earthworm, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of various reddish-brown or grayish worms that live in the soil; angleworm. An earthworm is an annelid. It has minute bristles on each segment that aid in locomotion. Earthworms loosen the soil by burrowing and let air circulate through it. <BR> <I>Ex. Earthworms may be found almost everywhere that there is moist soil, and their tremendous value to agriculture can hardly be overestimated (A. M. Winchester).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a mean or groveling person. </DL>
<A NAME="earthy">
<B>earthy, </B>adjective, <B>earthier,</B> <B>earthiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of earth or soil. <BR> <I>Ex. Potatoes have an earthy smell.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>like earth or soil (in texture, color, or other feature). <BR> <I>Ex. The color of the field was a rich, earthy brown.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>not spiritual; worldly. <BR> <I>Ex. An earthy man is interested in material things. The first man is of the earth, earthy (I Corinthians 15:47).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) natural; simple and frank; unsophisticated. <BR> <I>Ex. Miss Bettis ... has lost a great deal of her earlier earthy passion and has come to give a slightly false and fancy performance (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Figurative.) not refined; coarse. <BR> <I>Ex. earthy humor.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="eartick">
<B>ear tick,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a bloodsucking parasite which infests the ears of cattle, horses, sheep, dogs, and other animals. It is prevalent in the semiarid sections of the United States, where it causes heavy losses among livestock. </DL>
<A NAME="eartrumpet">
<B>ear trumpet,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a trumpet-shaped instrument held to the ear by a deaf person as an aid in hearing. </DL>
<A NAME="earwax">
<B>earwax, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the sticky, yellowish substance secreted by glands along the canal of the outer ear; cerumen. </DL>
<A NAME="earwig">
<B>earwig, </B>noun, verb, <B>-wigged,</B> <B>-wigging.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a slender insect somewhat like a beetle, found throughout the world. They have short, leathery forewings and forcepslike appendages at the end of the abdomen. Earwigs were once thought to crawl into people's ears; dermapteran. <DD><B> 2. </B>a kind of long, narrow-bodied centipede. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to try to influence with sly suggestions; whisper insinuations in the ear of, against another. <BR> <I>Ex. Each secretary of state is earwigged by a knot of sturdy beggars (Blackwood's Magazine).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="earwitness">
<B>earwitness, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who testifies, or can testify, to something he has heard. <BR> <I>Ex. The earwitness testimony ... is undependable in determining the source of any shots where there is a possibility of echoes (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
