earthly

adj

1. Relating to the earth or this world, as opposed to heaven or the heavens.

   “The Garden of Earthly Delights is full of earthly joys alongside grotesqueries, monstrosities, and torture.”

   “(For many walke, of whome I haue told you often, and now tell you euen weeping, that they are the enemies of the crosse of Christ: / Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glorie is in their shame, who minde earthly things.)”

   “The shadows of earth and earthly things, resting omen-like upon the waters, alone shewed which was the home and which the mirror of the celestial host.”

   “Where it had been left hundreds of years ago, / Extract from the depth, is but a setting sun, / Paradise is scarce in this light that won’t shine, / What is our earthly task, but a worthy design?”

2. (obsolete)Made of earth; earthy.

   “We have this […] treasure in frail, brittle, and earthly vessels.”

3. (informal)Used in negative contructions for emphasis.

   “There is no earthly way, I mean no way on earth, that I will ever do that.”

   “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.”

   “In fiscal terms, there’s no earthly reason for Congress to be stingy with Social Security’s administrative budget.”

4. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of earthly (“relating to the Earth”).

   “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; […]”

   “The Earthly chronometer will indeed indicate that several decades have passed; whereas the spacely chronometer will indicate instead that several years have passed.”

   “My parents had shown us lots of videos of home and if this was a sound an Earthly creature made, it wasn’t one on any of those videos.”

   “Many observers rejected the notion that they needed to choose between preserving Earthly life and enjoying [Vincent] van Gogh’s sunflowers.”

noun

1. (collective, in-plural)That which is of the earth or earthly; a terrestrial being.

   “He claims that the book directs the believer to let go of the earthly and await God's kingdom in the heavenly.”

   “So, let all earthlies and celestials wait / Upon Thy royal state! / Sleep, sleep, my kingly One!”

2. (UK, colloquial)A slightest chance (of success etc.) or idea (about something).

   “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."”

   “You're here, aren't you, if it comes to a bunk but we're there, cut off so to speak, and if anything slips, like what that bloke makes out in his letter, we shan't have half an earthly.”

   “‘Then I didn't have a chance when I stood you a drink?’ I said. ‘Not an earthly!’ she said and laughed; but when I left she kissed me good-night.”

adv

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.”

   “and dost thou, indeed, revive to existence only to again (even in more attempered blood) design the death of the innocent, helpless, orphaned memorial of a pure, a heaven and earthly-sanctioned flame, whose venial trespass was but the forestalment of your own decree?”

   “And here again we observe the great advantage of the heavenly over the earthly appointed courts.”

   “Under such circumstances it is wise that church and state be separated, for such an earthly ordained priesthood has no more ability to rule wisely than have civil rulers.”

   “The Lord has allowed me to see a striking similarity between this heavenly anointed cherub and this earthly anointed cherub (messenger) of God.”