"on earth" meaning in All languages combined

See on earth on Wiktionary

Prepositional phrase [English]

Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-on earth.wav
Head templates: {{head|en|prepositional phrase|head=}} on earth, {{en-PP}} on earth
  1. Expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative word. Synonyms: the dickens [emphatic, intensifier], on Earth Translations (expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word): dimonis (Catalan), diables (Catalan), 究竟 (jiūjìng) (Chinese Mandarin), 到底 (dàodǐ) (Chinese Mandarin), i alverden (Danish), in vredesnaam (Dutch), in hemelsnaam (Dutch), in godsnaam (Dutch), ihme (Finnish), kumma (Finnish), diable (French), donc (French), in Gottes Namen (German), in Herrgotts Namen (German), in aller Welt (German), um alles in der Welt (German), um Himmels willen (German), um Himmels Willen (German), mai (Italian), 一体 (alt: いったい; ittai) (Japanese), 自体 (alt: じたい; jitai) (Japanese), 一体全体 (alt: いったいぜんたい; ittaizentai) (Japanese), 도대체 (dodaeche) (Korean), 대체 (daeche) (Korean), i all verden (Norwegian), na Boga (Polish), (Polish), jakim cudem (Polish), diabos (Portuguese), raios (Portuguese), Dumnezeu (Romanian), doamne (Romanian), вообще́ (voobščé) (Russian), zaboga (Serbo-Croatian), pobogu (Serbo-Croatian), kvragu (Serbo-Croatian), dovraga (Serbo-Croatian), i hela världen (Swedish)

Alternative forms

{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "on earth",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "on earth",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English intensifiers",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Catalan translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Danish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Korean translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Romanian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1895, Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest […] , [Act I]:",
          "text": "Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1992 April 26, “Hot Off the Press”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 3, Episode 5:",
          "text": "A. Fink-Nottle: But it's absolute balderdash, Bertie. I mean, listen to this: \"Sure and begorrah, I don't know what's after being the matter with you, Michael.\" I mean, what on earth is this \"what's after being\" stuff mean?\nB.W. Wooster: My dear old Gussie, that is how people think Irish people talk.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013 October 31, Rowena Mason, quoting David Steel, “Lord Steel criticises culture of spin and tweeting in modern politics”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:",
          "text": "How on earth are we supposed to hold our heads high as the 'mother of parliaments' when we allow to continue the practice of almost openly buying a seat in parliament?",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative word."
      ],
      "id": "en-on_earth-en-prep_phrase-~O8V2FD~",
      "links": [
        [
          "Expletive",
          "expletive#English"
        ],
        [
          "emphasis",
          "emphasis#English"
        ],
        [
          "interrogative",
          "interrogative#English"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "emphatic",
            "intensifier"
          ],
          "word": "the dickens"
        },
        {
          "word": "on Earth"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "dimonis"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "diables"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "jiūjìng",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "究竟"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "dàodǐ",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "到底"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "i alverden"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "in vredesnaam"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "in hemelsnaam"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "in godsnaam"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "ihme"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "kumma"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "diable"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "donc"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "in Gottes Namen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "in Herrgotts Namen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "in aller Welt"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "um alles in der Welt"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "um Himmels willen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "um Himmels Willen"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "mai"
        },
        {
          "alt": "いったい; ittai",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "一体"
        },
        {
          "alt": "じたい; jitai",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "自体"
        },
        {
          "alt": "いったいぜんたい; ittaizentai",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "一体全体"
        },
        {
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "dodaeche",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "도대체"
        },
        {
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "daeche",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "대체"
        },
        {
          "code": "no",
          "lang": "Norwegian",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "i all verden"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "na Boga"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "-ż"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "jakim cudem"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "diabos"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "raios"
        },
        {
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "Dumnezeu"
        },
        {
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "doamne"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "voobščé",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "вообще́"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "zaboga"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "pobogu"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "kvragu"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "dovraga"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
          "word": "i hela världen"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-on earth.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8a/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-on_earth.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-on_earth.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8a/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-on_earth.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-on_earth.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "on earth"
}
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "on earth",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "on earth",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English intensifiers",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English prepositional phrases",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned",
        "Terms with Catalan translations",
        "Terms with Danish translations",
        "Terms with Dutch translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Korean translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Norwegian translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Romanian translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1895, Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest […] , [Act I]:",
          "text": "Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1992 April 26, “Hot Off the Press”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 3, Episode 5:",
          "text": "A. Fink-Nottle: But it's absolute balderdash, Bertie. I mean, listen to this: \"Sure and begorrah, I don't know what's after being the matter with you, Michael.\" I mean, what on earth is this \"what's after being\" stuff mean?\nB.W. Wooster: My dear old Gussie, that is how people think Irish people talk.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013 October 31, Rowena Mason, quoting David Steel, “Lord Steel criticises culture of spin and tweeting in modern politics”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:",
          "text": "How on earth are we supposed to hold our heads high as the 'mother of parliaments' when we allow to continue the practice of almost openly buying a seat in parliament?",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Expletive used for emphasis after an interrogative word."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Expletive",
          "expletive#English"
        ],
        [
          "emphasis",
          "emphasis#English"
        ],
        [
          "interrogative",
          "interrogative#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-on earth.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8a/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-on_earth.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-on_earth.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8a/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-on_earth.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-on_earth.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "emphatic",
        "intensifier"
      ],
      "word": "the dickens"
    },
    {
      "word": "on Earth"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "dimonis"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "diables"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "jiūjìng",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "究竟"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "dàodǐ",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "到底"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "i alverden"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "in vredesnaam"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "in hemelsnaam"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "in godsnaam"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "ihme"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "kumma"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "diable"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "donc"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "in Gottes Namen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "in Herrgotts Namen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "in aller Welt"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "um alles in der Welt"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "um Himmels willen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "um Himmels Willen"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "mai"
    },
    {
      "alt": "いったい; ittai",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "一体"
    },
    {
      "alt": "じたい; jitai",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "自体"
    },
    {
      "alt": "いったいぜんたい; ittaizentai",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "一体全体"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "dodaeche",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "도대체"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "daeche",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "대체"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "i all verden"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "na Boga"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "-ż"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "jakim cudem"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "diabos"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "raios"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "Dumnezeu"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "doamne"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "voobščé",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "вообще́"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "zaboga"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "pobogu"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "kvragu"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "dovraga"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "expletive giving emphasis after interrogative word",
      "word": "i hela världen"
    }
  ],
  "word": "on earth"
}

Download raw JSONL data for on earth meaning in All languages combined (7.7kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.