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I know that the word terrestrial originally meant something relating to the earth. But I think I've heard it being used before meaning something close to home or easier to understand in the context of mathematics. I can't remember the exact phrase, but I think it was used like this:

Let's break it down to something more simple and terrestrial.

I got curious, so I searched the internet for this definition, but there seems to be no mention of it.

Am I wrong in understanding this word this way?

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  • 6
    I've never encountered this, but I might recognize it as a variation on the idiom down to earth.
    – Juhasz
    Jul 13, 2022 at 5:05
  • 5
    Sounds like a mistranslation of "down to earth" rather than a variation of it.
    – nnnnnn
    Jul 13, 2022 at 6:09
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    It may relate to wider context eg simplifying cosmology. Some kind of metaphor or creative imagery.
    – Stuart F
    Jul 13, 2022 at 7:24
  • 3
    Maybe you meant pedestrian?
    – Phil Sweet
    Jul 13, 2022 at 13:47
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    I’m voting to close this question because OP acknowledges in a comment that the word might have been "pedestrian". If it was "pedestrian", then this question serves no purpose. If it was "terrestrial", then it was probably either a nonstandard use of the word or the meaning that alphabet suggested, which is easy to look up.
    – MarcInManhattan
    May 5 at 5:25

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As MW states, "terrestrial" can mean:

mundane in scope or character; prosaic

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