Eorthen

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Made of earth, clay or packed soil, as in an old vessel or floor
2. Constructed from baked or unbaked clay, or from the ground itself
3. Describing something formed of the soil, such as a rough wall or pot

Etymology: Old English "eorþen" (often written "eorthen" in modern transcriptions) meant "made of earth" or "of soil," and it is simply the adjective of "eorþe," the Old English noun for earth. The ending "-en" is the same adjectival suffix found in "wooden," "golden," and "woollen," which marks material. So the word is a plain, transparent formation: earth plus a material suffix, describing things like clay vessels or earthen floors. Its survival is the more notable part. Many Old English adjectives of this type were lost, but "earthen" stayed in continuous use and is still common in modern English, while the noun "earth" was partly reshaped by the same suffix pattern in "earthy," which took on a figurative sense of plainness and coarseness.