PAL

Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus

_ (the underscore) is the placeholder for exactly one character.
% (the percent sign) is the placeholder for no, one or more than one character.
%% (two percent signs) is the placeholder for no, one or more than one character, but not for blank space (so that a search ends at word boundaries).

At the beginning and at the end, these placeholders are superfluous.

plus éloigné de la terre‘further away from the Earth’

French

References: PH Morelon: I.10:4, 32:13; I.11:4, 38:14
Translation of:
Arabic: أبعد من مركز الأرض [PH Morelon: I.10:4, 33:9]
Arabic: أبعد من الأرض [PH Morelon: I.11:4, 39:9]