Why is our planet called earth when it's mainly water?

Question

Why is our planet called earth when it's mainly water?

Answer 1

Well, I guess its because the land-dwelling decendants of bipedal apes named it. I'm sure it would be named differently if we had left it up to the dolphins and whales. Perhaps they do have their own name and we simply havent figured it out yet! :)

Answer 2

Water is supported by the underlying Earth. Isn't it?

Answer 3

When ancient people named the planet, they had no idea that it was mostly water.

To people in the desert (which is where many of the ancient civilizations started), there is very little water on the planet.

Answer 4

We named the ground after our planet.

Answer 5

it would sound daft if it was called water wouldnt it

Answer 6

It's really just a matter of a word having more than one connotation or meaning.  One meaning is the planet.  The other meaning is dirt and rocks, or land masses.  As some have pointed out, the etymology of the word goes back to a time before people realized that the surface of the earth is mostly covered by water.

Good thing, too, because referring to it in some aqueous terms would not have been very accurate.  We see many talking about it as a water world, but that's just superficial.  Water covers most of the surface but actually makes up a tiny portion of the earth's total mass.  It really is a planet made up mostly of rock and metal, in solid or magma form.

Answer 7

It's not mainly water. It's mainly metal and silicates. Water just dominates the surface.

Answer 8

but under the water is more land..therefore the land is not on the water, but the water is on the land

Answer 9

"It originated from the 8th century anglo-saxon word erda. See the related link."

You learn something new every day.

Answer 10

Because Kevin Costner already took "Waterworld"

Answer 11

It is called "Earth", because that is what we named it...

not because it is mostly dirt/land.

Answer 12

Well what do you want to call it, Water or something? Maybe it's because we live on earth and not on water. That's just what I think, though.

Answer 13

renman, if they called it water ages ago, we would think it would be stupid to call it earth.

Answer 14

Because humans are anthropocentric. We think that everything is about us, so, since we live on the land and not in the oceans, we call it Earth. if we were aquatic, we'd probably be calling it some word that means water.