Crossword Genius

Dirt from home initially removed (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

earth

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'dirt' is the definition.
(I know that dirt can be written as earth)

'from home initially removed' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'from' could be 'e' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'e' is found within the answer.
'home' could be 'h' (abbreviation as used in sports fixtures) and 'h' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'art' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for earth that I've seen before include "World - soil" , "It is necessary to clear" , "Familiar example of 1 Across" , "Ground - globe - soil" , "Terrestrial sphere" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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