Earthling

An alternate term for the human race, primarily used during the First War. This term was originally a human term coined to describe all life of Earth origin, but primarily used for themselves as an ironic diminutive, humbly naming themselves by their planet of origin rather than using the term "human" which has the connotation as a universal judgment of sentience or moral worth. The term had already been used with this purpose in mind among humans even before first contact, often in human science fiction as a reference to human immaturity compared to older, imaginary alien civilizations, and seems to have been primarily used between humans and other members of the Alliance to avoid pejorative connotations of "human" vs. "nonhuman". In all other contexts, including most Hierarchy communications, "human" remained the most common term, and by the time of the Second War humans had become accustomed enough to their place among alien civilizations that it appeared "human" had mostly lost its original connotations and become a specific term for the species Homo sapiens. "Earthling" has now mostly passed out of use, though it remains part of the official designation of the primiary human combat vessel, the Earthling Cruiser.