Translation
alien, extraterrestrial
Word origin
Built inside Esperanto from ekster, outside, plus the root of tero, earth, plus -an-, the suffix for a member or inhabitant. An inhabitant of outside the earth, assembled rather than borrowed.
- Origin
- Esperanto compound
- Root
- ekster + ter- + -an-
Examples
.
In the film the aliens arrive in a big ship.
, ?
Do you believe that aliens exist?
, .
The alien was green, small and very polite.
Decode it and the word tells its own joke: (outside, rank 335) plus - (earth, rank 178) plus -an-, the suffix for someone who belongs to a place. An inhabitant of outside-the-earth.
Esperanto did not borrow alien from anywhere. It built the word out of three pieces a learner already has in the first fortnight, which is the sort of thing the language is for. The same -an- gives you o (a townsperson), (a Christian) and (a fellow believer in the cause).
The register is science fiction and it always has been: (rank 2477) is where the eksterteranoj live. If you want the adjective, it is eksterterana.
The word also carries this chapter's story, La plenluno, in which the thing moving about the garden under a full moon turns out not to be an eksterterano at all.
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eksterterano: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "eksterterano" (alien, extraterrestrial): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 58.