Terran means "of Terra", i.e. "of Earth", which is also the root of "terrestrial", e.g. terrestrial ecoregions. Terra may mean: Terra (goddess), a primeval Roman goddess, also known as Tellus Terra (satellite), a research satellite launched by NASA in 1999 Terra (comics), a DC Comics character who infiltrated and betrayed the Teen Titans Terra (company), Terra Networks, S.A., an Internet company headquartered in Spain Terra (world... Earth is the third planet from the Sun. ... A landform comprises a geomorphological unit. ... Ecoregions are defined by the World Wildlife Fund as relatively large units of land or water containing a distinct assemblage of natural communities and species, with boundaries that approximate the original extent of natural communities prior to major land-use change. Terrestrial ecoregions are land ecoregions, as distinct from freshwater...

As with "terrestrial", everything on Earth is arguably Terran, that is it is just as legitimate to say "of terran origin" as "of terrestrial origin".

Some, such as Hugo De Garis, make the distinction that those who want to leave Earth or destroy it may be of terrestrial origin but are not in fact Terran. He defines a Terran in political opposition to a Cosmist—the latter being those who wish to build artificial intelligence beyond human capabilities and leave Earth. Hugo de Garis (born 1947, Sydney, Australia) is an associate professor of computer science at Utah State University. ... Hugo de Garis (born 1947, Sydney, Australia) is an associate professor of computer science at Utah State University. ... Hondas intelligent humanoid robot Artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as intelligence exhibited by an artificial entity. ...

That distinction seems to be derived from earlier usage of terran by many science fiction authors as a synonym for earthling or human or terrestrial—most notably in the context of alien encounters with humans. It is particularly useful in contexts—such as most popular science fiction television shows—where there are humans or near-humans from other planets, necessitating a term for inhabitants of Earth that is more specific than human. This usage is probably related to the term Martians for natives of Mars. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... The word earthling refers to a being of terrestrial or terran origin, specifically of Earth. ... Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu  (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens Homo (genus). ... A landform comprises a geomorphological unit. ... An artists impression of the Martians from The War of the Worlds. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ...

Sometimes Terran and earthling are used for joke impact, when aliens cannot tell humans from other highly active-and-possibly cognitive terran entities, for example dogs, great apes, whales, and occasionally automobiles. For example, in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, an alien ship seeking humpback whales to talk to is causing tremendous harm to Earth, as humpbacks are long extinct and it increases in volume to get a response; on previous visits, the aliens apparently recognized them, and not humans, as the species worth engaging in conversation. A similar theme was expressed in Visit to a Small Planet, when aliens who visited Earth were convinced it was ruled by cars, with human parasites in them. Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris (Linnaeus, 1758) The dog is a canine mammal of the Order Carnivora. ... Genera Subfamily Ponginae Pongo - Orangutans Gigantopithecus (extinct) Sivapithecus (extinct) Subfamily Homininae Gorilla - Gorillas Pan - Chimpanzees Homo - Humans Paranthropus (extinct) Australopithecus (extinct) Sahelanthropus (extinct) Ardipithecus (extinct) Kenyanthropus (extinct) Pierolapithecus (extinct) (tentative) The Hominids (Hominidae) are a biological family which includes humans, extinct species of humanlike creatures and the other great apes... Whales are the largest species of exclusively aquatic mammals, members of the order Cetacea, which also includes dolphins and porpoises. ... A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ... Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Paramount Pictures, 1986; see also 1986 in film) is the fourth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ...

The term Terran has specific applications in some science fiction stories. For example:

• The Terrans are humans, some with psionic abilities, in the computer game StarCraft, as opposed to the Zerg and Protoss.
• 'Terran' is one of the game races in Planetarion. In the game, Terran ships are a bit slow, but they are powerful and heavily armored.
• The Terran Confederation is the human government in the Wing Commander series.
• The Terran Federation is a human government in Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers.
• The Terran Empire is the human government in the Mirror Universe discovered by James T. Kirk in the Star Trek episode Mirror, Mirror.
• The Terran Republic is one of the three armies the player can play as in the Sony Online Entertainment game, Planetside
• Terran is also a term used almost exclusively in the computer game series Freespace to mean a human.
• Garland is the only remaining descendant of Terra in Final Fantasy IX.
• In the Warhammer 40,000 Universe, Earth is pretty much always refured to as Terra , (or Holy Terra) , and is the centre of the Imperium of Man and home to The Emperor of Mankind

In modern science fiction, Terran is more common than earthling, since the latter term tends to carry a diminutive (and somewhat derogatory) or humorous connotation. Occasionally a completely different term will be introduced: for example, in the Stargate universe, humans from Earth are the Tau'ri (a term which does contain some of the same sounds as Terran). In the strategy game Imperium Galactica, humans are referred to as solarians - a reference to the formal name of our sun, Sol. The Marines of the Terran Confederacy The Terrans are the name given to the human colonists in the StarCraft universe used to distinguish them from the humans of Earth. ... This article or section may contain external links added only to promote a website, product or service — otherwise known as spam. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... StarCraft (SC) is a real-time strategy computer game by Blizzard Entertainment. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Protoss The Protoss are a race in Blizzard Entertainments real-time strategy computer game, StarCraft. ... Planetarion is a web browser-based multiplayer game based on a futuristic war in space. ... The Terran Confederation is the primary human government in the Wing Commander science fiction series. ... Wing Commander is a series of space combat simulation computer games from Origin Systems, Inc. ... The Terran Federation is a fictional government from Robert Heinleins science fiction novel Starship Troopers. ... Heinlein autographing at the 1976 Worldcon Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most influential and controversial authors in science fiction. ... Starship Troopers is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1959. ... The Terran Empire is, in the fictional universe of Star Trek, the Mirror Universe counterpart of the United Federation of Planets. ... In the Star Trek television series, the Mirror Universe is an alternate reality. ... James Tiberius Kirk, played by William Shatner, was captain of two starships Enterprise (NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-A) in the fictional Star Trek universe. ... Star Trek collectively refers to a science-fiction franchise spanning six unique television series, 726 episodes and ten motion pictures in addition to hundreds of novels, video games, fan stories and other works of fiction all set within the same fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry in the mid-1960s. ... Mirror, Mirror is an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. ... Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) is a computer game development division of Sony that mostly creates massively multiplayer online games. ... PlanetSide is a Massively multiplayer online first-person shooter computer game published by Sony Online Entertainment and released on May 20, 2003. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Descent: Freespace Screenshot Freespace 2 Screenshot Descent: FreeSpace is a space simulation computer game series developed by Volition Inc. ... Final Fantasy IX (ファイナルファンタジーIX Fainaru Fantajī IX) is a computer role-playing game developed by Square Co. ... A diminutive is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object named, intimacy, or endearment. ... A word or phrase is pejorative or derogatory (sometimes misspelled perjorative) if it expresses contempt or disapproval; dyslogistic (noun: dyslogism) is used synonymously (antonyms: meliorative, eulogistic, noun eulogism). ... This article discusses humour in terms of comedy and laughter. ... Stargate SG-1 (alternately spelled Stargåte, and popularly abbreviated as SG-1) is a television series based upon the 1994 science fiction film Stargate. ... The Tauri (or Tauri or People of the Tauri) is a widespread term used to refer to humans of Earth by many alien races in the science fiction universe Stargate SG-1. ... Imperium Galactica is a computer game made by Hungarian-based Digital Reality that combines many of the features of turn-based and real-time strategy games. ... Standards Of Learning SOL stands for The Standards Of Learning. ...