Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, consisting of, or resembling earth.
  • adjective Of or characteristic of this world; worldly.
  • adjective Crude or off-color; indecent.
  • adjective Hearty or uninhibited; natural.
  • adjective Unadorned and simple in style.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In chem., having the general character of the substances known as earths, and of their compounds: as, an earthy salt.
  • Of or pertaining to earth; consisting of earth; partaking of the nature of earth; terrene: as, earthy matter.
  • Resembling earth or some of the properties of earth: as, an earthy taste or smell.
  • Inhabiting the earth; earthly.
  • Gross; not refined.
  • In mineralogy, without luster, or dull, and roughish to the touch.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Consisting of, or resembling, earth; terrene; earthlike.
  • adjective rare Of or pertaining to the earth or to, this world; earthly; terrestrial; carnal.
  • adjective Gross; low; unrefined.
  • adjective (Min.) Without luster, or dull and roughish to the touch.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Resembling dirt or soil (i.e. earth).
  • adjective Down to earth, un-artificed, natural.
  • adjective Like or resembling the earth or of the earth.
  • adjective Covered with earth (mud, dirt).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or consisting of or resembling earth
  • adjective not far removed from or suggestive of nature
  • adjective conspicuously and tastelessly indecent
  • adjective sensible and practical
  • adjective hearty and lusty

Etymologies

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Examples

  • In fact, he's been hunting for what he calls "earthy, timeless pieces" since he was 18.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2011

  • Line Knitwear showed four fairly good looks in earthy tones with a standout pair of salmon colored leather cropped wide leg pants.

    Marissa Bronfman: Toronto Springs Into Fashion Week Marissa Bronfman 2010

  • Line Knitwear showed four fairly good looks in earthy tones with a standout pair of salmon colored leather cropped wide leg pants.

    Marissa Bronfman: Toronto Springs Into Fashion Week Marissa Bronfman 2010

  • But Montaigne says that such behavior is wrong: “I crawl in earthy slime but I do not fail to note, way up in the clouds, the matchless height of certain souls.”

    R-E-S-P-E-C-T « So Many Books 2004

  • Of course, these are the same folks who think God created fossils to "look" 50 million years old, even though the earthy is "really" only 5,000 years old, so their use of the analytical method is hardly something I'd have a lot of faith in.

    06/30/2004 2004

  • At last she recognised it; it was a familiar odour, a peculiar smell, of the kind we call earthy: -- it was the air of her own earth-house, in days that seemed far away!

    Heather and Snow George MacDonald 1864

  • About the massive crowd that we saw today as we are looking at these pictures that he drew in Portland about the so-called earthy residents about Oregon.

    CNN Transcript May 18, 2008 2008

  • This vetiver could be described as earthy and perhaps a tad smoky and woody and quite musky.

    Decoding Obscure Notes Part VII: Vetiver - Earthy? Woody? Green? Ayala Sender 2007

  • This vetiver could be described as earthy and perhaps a tad smoky and woody and quite musky.

    Archive 2007-02-01 Ayala Sender 2007

  • Wherefore should I sorrow for what I eat, for what I drink, or for what I may array this miserable food for worms called my earthy body?

    Hunger 2003

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