Martian Martian A Martian is a native inhabitant of the planet Mars. Although the search for evidence of life on Mars continues, many science fiction writers have imagined what extraterrestrial life on Mars might be like. Some writers also use the word "Martian" to describe a human colonist on Mars. The earliest known instances of the word "Martian", used as a noun instead of an adjective, were printed in late 1877. They appeared nearly simultaneously in England and the United States, in magazine articles detailing Asaph Hall's discovery of the moons of Mars in August of that year. The next event
Earthling English "yrþling", in the meaning "ploughman". The sense of "inhabitant of earth" is first attested in the 1590s. Its use in science fiction dates to 1949, in "Red Planet" by Robert A. Heinlein. The word "Human" has the same imposed meaning, since it originates from a PIE word "*ǵʰmṓ" "earthling" < "*dʰéǵʰōm" "earth". Compare Latin "homo" "human" and "humus" "earth, soil". Its modern use in science fiction literature contrasts "Earth" (the planet) with outer space or hypothetical other planets with sapient life. The term was often used in 1950s science fiction film and novels by aliens to express a disdainful