tellūs
ūris, f.
perh. root tollo, to bear
I.
the earth, opp. to the other planets or to the sea, the globe (a word belonging almost entirely to poetry).
I.
Lit.
A.
In gen.: ea, quae est media et nona, tellus, neque movetur et infima, Cic. Rep. 6, 17, 17 (for which: terra in medio mundo sita, id. Tusc. 1, 17, 40; id. N D. 2, 39, 98 al.; v. terra): animae vis aut extrinsecus aut ipsā tellure coörta, Lucr 6, 579: telluris operta subire, Verg. A. 6, 140. —
B.
In partic., earth, land, ground (cf. solum): quāque fuit tellus, illic et pontus et aër; Sic erat instabilis tellus, innabilis unda, Ov. M. 1, 15; cf.: jamque mare et tellus nullum discrimen habebant; Omnia pontus erant, id. ib. 1, 291: nec ullis Saucia vomeribus per se dabat omnia tellus, id. ib. 1, 102: exercetque frequens tellurem atque imperat arvis, Verg. G. 1, 99: reddit ubi Cererem tellus inarata, Hor. Epod. 16, 43: non presso tellus exsurgit aratro, Tib. 4, 1, 161: sterilis sine arbore tellus, Ov. M. 8, 789: fundit humo facilem victum justissima tellus, Verg. G. 2, 460.—
C.
Personified, Tellus, Earth, as a productive, nourishing divinity: unam eandemque terram habere geminam vim, et masculinam, quod semina producat et femininam, quod recipiat atque enutriat. Inde a vi femininā dictam esse Tellurem, a masculinā Tellumonem, Varr. ap. Aug. Civ. Dei, 7, 23 fin.; cf.: primum (invocabo), qui omnes fructus agriculturae caelo et terrā continent, Jovem et Tellurem: itaque quod ii parentes magni dicuntur, Juppiter pater appellatur, Tellus, terra mater, id. R. R. 1, 1, 5; and; si est Ceres a gerendo, terra ipsa dea est: quae enim est alia Tellus? Cic. N. D. 3, 20, 52: Tellurem porco, Silvanum lacte piabant, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 143: aedis Telluris, Cic. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 4, § 14: in Telluris (sc. aede), id. Att. 16, 14, 1: Tellus mater, Liv. 10, 29.—
II.
Transf., a land, country, district, region, territory (poet.; syn.: regio, terra): Tuscula, Tib. 1, 7, 57: tellus barbara Scythiae, id. 3, 4, 91; so, barbara, Ov. M. 7, 53: Delphica, id. ib. 1, 515: Aegyptia, id. ib. 5, 323: Gnosia, Verg. A. 6, 23: nova, Hor. C. 1, 7, 29: Jubae, id. ib. 1, 22, 15: Assaraci, id. Epod. 13, 13 et saep.