tellūs (-ŭs short, Mart. Cap. 5, § 584), ūris, f. [perh. root tollo, to bear], 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. 3, 7, 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.