Terran

Terran is an adjective and noun deriving from Latin terra, meaning land or the earth. As an adjective, Terran denotes things related to Earth or terrestrial environments; as a noun, a Terran is a person from Earth or, in some contexts, a human being in a science-fiction setting. The term is used in astronomy and planetary science to describe Earth-like, or terrestrial, planets; in this sense it is synonymous with "terrestrial" or "Earth-like." In everyday scientific writing, "terrestrial" is more common, while "Terran" remains more literary or specialized.

In popular culture, Terran is frequently employed to distinguish humans from aliens or from inhabitants of other worlds. It appears in various science-fiction works and role-playing settings, and is especially common in video games. For example, in the video game StarCraft, Terrans are the humans who form a spacefaring civilization. The usage can be capitalized when treated as a proper noun, especially when referring to a specific human group within a fictional universe, and lowercase when used as a descriptive adjective.

The term has historical usage in science fiction dating to early 20th-century speculations about Earth-origin civilizations among cosmic colonists. It remains a generic, neutral term used to discuss Earth-based humanity and Earth-like worlds, distinct from extraterrestrial species or inhabitants of other planets.