sb. (a.) Also 8–9 terrein (9 terrane, in sense 3). [a. F. terrain (also terrein), OF. terain (Wace, 12th c.):—pop. L. *terrānum = cl. L. terrēnum TERRENE.]
† 1. (See quot. 1727.) Obs. b. Standing-ground, position.
1727. Bailey, vol. II., Terrain,… is the Manage-Ground upon which the Horse makes his Pist or Tread.
1753. in Chambers, Cycl. Supp.
1816. in James, Milit. Dict.
1832. Lister, Arlington, II. vii. 117. Viewed in the same light, and from the same terrain from which they view it themselves.
2. A tract of country considered with regard to its natural features, configuration, etc.; in military use esp. as affecting its tactical advantages, fitness for manœuvring, etc.; also, an extent of ground, region, district, territory.
1766. W. Digby, Lett. to G. Selvyn, 12 April, in Jesse, S. & Contemp. (1843), II. 13. We rode to reconnoitre the terrein.
1816. James, Milit. Dict., Terrain,… generally any space or extent of ground.
1879. Cassell’s Techn. Educ., IV. 95/1. Without reference … to the physical irregularities of the terrain.
1889. Baden-Powell, Pigsticking, 9. Taking in at a glance the peculiarities of the terrain.
3. Geol. (Usually spelt terrane.) A name for a connected series, group, or system of rocks or formations; a stratigraphical subdivision.
1823. trans. Humboldt’s Geognost. Ess., Introd. 2. The union of several formations constitutes a geological series or a district (terrain); but the terms rocks, formations, and terrains, are used as synonymous in many works on geognosy.
1864. Dana, Man. Geol., 81 (Cent.). Terrane … is used for any single rock or continuous series of rocks of a region, whether the formation be stratified or not.
1889. in Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc., XLV. 63. The word terrane proposed by Prof. Gilbert to be used for a stratigraphical subdivision of any magnitude.
1895. Pop. Sci. Monthly, Sept., 694. The slates of the Cambrian terrane.
B. adj. Of the earth, terrene, terrestrial. a. Terrain tide, a (supposed) rise and fall in the earth’s crust, caused by the attraction of the sun or moon. b. Terrain care: see quot.
1882. Milne, in Nature, 8 June, 125/2. To determine the existence of a terrain tide, a gravitimeter might be established…. If terrain tides exist, and they are sufficiently great from a geological point of view.
1891. Allbutt’s Syst. Med., IV. 621. Regulated exercises, such as the gentle climbing, especially in mountain districts, known as the terrain cure.
