- ground
- O.E. grund "foundation, ground, surface of the earth," especially "bottom of the sea" (a sense preserved in run aground), from P.Gmc. *grundus, which seems to have meant "deep place" (cf. O.Fris. grund, Du. grond, Ger. Grund "ground, soil, bottom;" O.N. grunn "a shallow place, grund "field, plain," grunnr "bottom"). No known cognates outside Gmc. Sense of "reason, motive" first attested c.1200; electrical sense is from 1870. Grounds "residue at the bottom of a liquid" (mid-14c.) is perhaps from past tense of grind (q.v.). Meaning "deny privileges" is 1940s, originally a punishment meted out to pilots (in which sense it is attested from 1931). Ground-hog is attested from 1784; Ground Hog Day first recorded 1871, Amer.Eng. Groundwork (c.1550) is originally "the solid base on which a structure is built;" fig. sense is from 1550s. Groundling "theater patron in the pit" is from c.1600, from the beginning emblematic of bad or unsophisticated taste.