- Terra
- Terra Ter"ra, n. [It. & L. See {Terrace}.]
The earth; earth.
[1913 Webster]
{Terra alba} [L., white earth] (Com.), a white amorphous earthy substance consisting of burnt gypsum, aluminium silicate (kaolin), or some similar ingredient, as magnesia. It is sometimes used to adulterate certain foods, spices, candies, paints, etc.
{Terra cotta}. [It., fr. terra earth + cotta, fem. of cotto cooked, L. coctus, p. p. of coquere to cook. See {Cook}, n.] Baked clay; a kind of hard pottery used for statues, architectural decorations, figures, vases, and the like.
{Terr[ae] filius} [L., son of the earth], formerly, one appointed to write a satirical Latin poem at the public acts in the University of Oxford; -- not unlike the prevaricator at Cambridge, England.
{Terra firma} [L.], firm or solid earth, as opposed to {water}.
{Terra Japonica}. [NL.] Same as {Gambier}. It was formerly supposed to be a kind of earth from Japan.
{Terra Lemnia} [L., Lemnian earth], Lemnian earth. See under {Lemnian}.
{Terra ponderosa} [L., ponderous earth] (Min.), barite, or heavy spar.
{Terra di Sienna}. See {Sienna}. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
