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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 :   [ gcide ]

  ground \ground\ (ground), n. [OE. ground, grund, AS. grund; akin
     to D. grond, OS., G., Sw., & Dan. grund, Icel. grunnr bottom,
     Goth. grundus (in composition); perh. orig. meaning, dust,
     gravel, and if so perh. akin to E. grind.]
     1. The surface of the earth; the outer crust of the globe, or
        some indefinite portion of it.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              There was not a man to till the ground. --Gen. ii.
                                                    5.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The fire ran along upon the ground.   --Ex. ix. 23.
        Hence: A floor or pavement supposed to rest upon the
        earth.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Any definite portion of the earth's surface; region;
        territory; country. Hence: A territory appropriated to, or
        resorted to, for a particular purpose; the field or place
        of action; as, a hunting or fishing ground; a play ground.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              From . . . old Euphrates, to the brook that parts
              Egypt from Syrian ground.             --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Land; estate; possession; field; esp. (pl.), the gardens,
        lawns, fields, etc., belonging to a homestead; as, the
        grounds of the estate are well kept.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Thy next design is on thy neighbor's grounds.
                                                    --Dryden. 4.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. The basis on which anything rests; foundation. Hence: The
        foundation of knowledge, belief, or conviction; a premise,
        reason, or datum; ultimate or first principle; cause of
        existence or occurrence; originating force or agency; as,
        the ground of my hope.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Paint. & Decorative Art)
        (a) That surface upon which the figures of a composition
            are set, and which relieves them by its plainness,
            being either of one tint or of tints but slightly
            contrasted with one another; as, crimson Bowers on a
            white ground. See Background, Foreground, and
            Middle-ground.
        (b) In sculpture, a flat surface upon which figures are
            raised in relief.
        (c) In point lace, the net of small meshes upon which the
            embroidered pattern is applied; as, Brussels ground.
            See Brussels lace, under Brussels.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     6. (Etching) A gummy composition spread over the surface of a
        metal to be etched, to prevent the acid from eating except
        where an opening is made by the needle.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     7. (Arch.) One of the pieces of wood, flush with the
        plastering, to which moldings, etc., are attached; --
        usually in the plural.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Grounds are usually put up first and the plastering
           floated flush with them.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     8. (Mus.)
        (a) A composition in which the bass, consisting of a few
            bars of independent notes, is continually repeated to
            a varying melody.
        (b) The tune on which descants are raised; the plain song.
            --Moore (Encyc.).
            [1913 Webster]
  
                  On that ground I'll build a holy descant.
                                                    --Shak.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     9. (Elec.) A conducting connection with the earth, whereby
        the earth is made part of an electrical circuit.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     10. pl. Sediment at the bottom of liquors or liquids; dregs;
         lees; feces; as, coffee grounds.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     11. The pit of a theater. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     Ground angling, angling with a weighted line without a
        float.
  
     Ground annual (Scots Law), an estate created in land by a
        vassal who instead of selling his land outright reserves
        an annual ground rent, which becomes a perpetual charge
        upon the land.
  
     Ground ash. (Bot.) See Groutweed.
  
     Ground bailiff (Mining), a superintendent of mines.
        --Simmonds.
  
     Ground bait, bits of bread, boiled barley or worms, etc.,
        thrown into the water to collect the fish, --Wallon.
  
     Ground bass or Ground base (Mus.), fundamental base; a
        fundamental base continually repeated to a varied melody.
        
  
     Ground beetle (Zo["o]l.), one of numerous species of
        carnivorous beetles of the family Carabid[ae], living
        mostly in burrows or under stones, etc.
  
     Ground chamber, a room on the ground floor.
  
     Ground cherry. (Bot.)
         (a) A genus ({Physalis) of herbaceous plants having an
             inflated calyx for a seed pod: esp., the strawberry
             tomato ({Physalis Alkekengi). See Alkekengl.
         (b) A European shrub ({Prunus Cham[ae]cerasus), with
             small, very acid fruit.
  
     Ground cuckoo. (Zo["o]l.) See Chaparral cock.
  
     Ground cypress. (Bot.) See Lavender cotton.
  
     Ground dove (Zo["o]l.), one of several small American
        pigeons of the genus Columbigallina, esp. C. passerina
        of the Southern United States, Mexico, etc. They live
        chiefly on the ground.
  
     Ground fish (Zo["o]l.), any fish which constantly lives on
        the botton of the sea, as the sole, turbot, halibut.
  
     Ground floor, the floor of a house most nearly on a level
        with the ground; -- called also in America, but not in
        England, the first floor.
  
     Ground form (Gram.), the stem or basis of a word, to which
        the other parts are added in declension or conjugation. It
        is sometimes, but not always, the same as the root.
  
     Ground furze (Bot.), a low slightly thorny, leguminous
        shrub ({Ononis arvensis) of Europe and Central Asia,; --
        called also rest-harrow.
  
     Ground game, hares, rabbits, etc., as distinguished from
        winged game.
  
     Ground hele (Bot.), a perennial herb ({Veronica
        officinalis) with small blue flowers, common in Europe
        and America, formerly thought to have curative properties.
        
  
     Ground of the heavens (Astron.), the surface of any part of
        the celestial sphere upon which the stars may be regarded
        as projected.
  
     Ground+hemlock+(Bot.),+the+yew+({Taxus+baccata" rel="nofollow">Ground hemlock (Bot.), the yew ({Taxus baccata var.
        Canadensisi) of eastern North America, distinguished from
        that of Europe by its low, straggling stems.
  
     Ground hog. (Zo["o]l.)
         (a) The woodchuck or American marmot ({Arctomys monax).
             See Woodchuck.
         (b) The aardvark.
  
     Ground hold (Naut.), ground tackle. [Obs.] --Spenser.
  
     Ground ice, ice formed at the bottom of a body of water
        before it forms on the surface.
  
     Ground ivy. (Bot.) A trailing plant; alehoof. See Gill.
        
  
     Ground joist, a joist for a basement or ground floor; a.
        sleeper.
  
     Ground lark (Zo["o]l.), the European pipit. See Pipit.
  
     Ground laurel (Bot.). See Trailing arbutus, under
        Arbutus.
  
     Ground line (Descriptive Geom.), the line of intersection
        of the horizontal and vertical planes of projection.
  
     Ground liverwort (Bot.), a flowerless plant with a broad
        flat forking thallus and the fruit raised on peduncled and
        radiated receptacles ({Marchantia polymorpha).
  
     Ground mail, in Scotland, the fee paid for interment in a
        churchyard.
  
     Ground mass (Geol.), the fine-grained or glassy base of a
        rock, in which distinct crystals of its constituents are
        embedded.
  
     Ground parrakeet (Zo["o]l.), one of several Australian
        parrakeets, of the genera Callipsittacus and
        Geopsittacus, which live mainly upon the ground.
  
     Ground pearl (Zo["o]l.), an insect of the family
        Coccid[ae]+({Margarodes+formicarum" rel="nofollow">Coccid[ae] ({Margarodes formicarum), found in ants'
        nests in the Bahamas, and having a shelly covering. They
        are strung like beads, and made into necklaces by the
        natives.
  
     Ground pig (Zo["o]l.), a large, burrowing, African rodent
        ({Aulacodus Swinderianus) about two feet long, allied to
        the porcupines but with harsh, bristly hair, and no
        spines; -- called also ground rat.
  
     Ground pigeon (Zo["o]l.), one of numerous species of
        pigeons which live largely upon the ground, as the
        tooth-billed pigeon ({Didunculus strigirostris), of the
        Samoan Islands, and the crowned pigeon, or goura. See
        Goura, and Ground dove (above).
  
     Ground pine. (Bot.)
         (a) A blue-flowered herb of the genus Ajuga ({A.
             Cham[ae]pitys), formerly included in the genus
             Teucrium or germander, and named from its resinous
             smell. --Sir J. Hill.
         (b) A long, creeping, evergreen plant of the genus
             Lycopodium+({L.+clavatum" rel="nofollow">Lycopodium ({L. clavatum); -- called also club
             moss.
         (c) A tree-shaped evergreen plant about eight inches in
             height, of the same genus ({L. dendroideum) found in
             moist, dark woods in the northern part of the United
             States. --Gray.
  
     Ground plan (Arch.), a plan of the ground floor of any
        building, or of any floor, as distinguished from an
        elevation or perpendicular section.
  
     Ground plane, the horizontal plane of projection in
        perspective drawing.
  
     Ground plate.
         (a) (Arch.) One of the chief pieces of framing of a
             building; a timber laid horizontally on or near the
             ground to support the uprights; a ground sill or
             groundsel.
         (b) (Railroads) A bed plate for sleepers or ties; a
             mudsill.
         (c) (Teleg.) A metallic plate buried in the earth to
             conduct the electric current thereto. Connection to
             the pipes of a gas or water main is usual in cities.
             --Knight.
  
     Ground plot, the ground upon which any structure is
        erected; hence, any basis or foundation; also, a ground
        plan.
  
     Ground plum (Bot.), a leguminous plant ({Astragalus
        caryocarpus) occurring from the Saskatchewan to Texas,
        and having a succulent plum-shaped pod.
  
     Ground rat. (Zo["o]l.) See Ground pig (above).
  
     Ground rent, rent paid for the privilege of building on
        another man's land.
  
     Ground robin. (Zo["o]l.) See Chewink.
  
     Ground room, a room on the ground floor; a lower room.
        --Tatler.
  
     Ground sea, the West Indian name for a swell of the ocean,
        which occurs in calm weather and without obvious cause,
        breaking on the shore in heavy roaring billows; -- called
        also rollers, and in Jamaica, the North sea.
  
     Ground sill. See Ground plate (a) (above).
  
     Ground snake (Zo["o]l.), a small burrowing American snake
        ({Celuta am[oe]na). It is salmon colored, and has a blunt
        tail.
  
     Ground squirrel. (Zo["o]l.)
         (a) One of numerous species of burrowing rodents of the
             genera Tamias and Spermophilus, having cheek
             pouches. The former genus includes the Eastern
             striped squirrel or chipmunk and some allied Western
             species; the latter includes the prairie squirrel or
             striped gopher, the gray gopher, and many allied
             Western species. See Chipmunk, and Gopher.
         (b) Any species of the African genus Xerus, allied to
             Tamias.
  
     Ground story. Same as Ground floor (above).
  
     Ground substance (Anat.), the intercellular substance, or
        matrix, of tissues.
  
     Ground swell.
         (a) (Bot.) The plant groundsel. [Obs.] --Holland.
         (b) A broad, deep swell or undulation of the ocean,
             caused by a long continued gale, and felt even at a
             remote distance after the gale has ceased.
  
     Ground table. (Arch.) See Earth table, under Earth.
  
     Ground tackle (Naut.), the tackle necessary to secure a
        vessel at anchor. --Totten.
  
     Ground thrush (Zo["o]l.), one of numerous species of
        bright-colored Oriental birds of the family Pittid[ae].
        See Pitta.
  
     Ground tier.
         (a) The lowest tier of water casks in a vessel's hold.
             --Totten.
         (b) The lowest line of articles of any kind stowed in a
             vessel's hold.
         (c) The lowest range of boxes in a theater.
  
     Ground timbers (Shipbuilding) the timbers which lie on the
        keel and are bolted to the keelson; floor timbers.
        --Knight.
  
     Ground tit. (Zo["o]l.) See Ground wren (below).
  
     Ground wheel, that wheel of a harvester, mowing machine,
        etc., which, rolling on the ground, drives the mechanism.
        
  
     Ground wren (Zo["o]l.), a small California bird ({Cham[ae]a
        fasciata) allied to the wrens and titmice. It inhabits
        the arid plains. Called also ground tit, and wren tit.
        
  
     To bite the ground, To break ground. See under Bite,
        Break.
  
     To come to the ground, To fall to the ground, to come to
        nothing; to fail; to miscarry.
  
     To gain ground.
         (a) To advance; to proceed forward in conflict; as, an
             army in battle gains ground.
         (b) To obtain an advantage; to have some success; as, the
             army gains ground on the enemy.
         (c) To gain credit; to become more prosperous or
             influential.
  
     To get ground, or To gather ground, to gain ground. [R.]
        ``Evening mist . . . gathers ground fast.'' --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              There is no way for duty to prevail, and get ground
              of them, but by bidding higher.       --South.
     To give ground, to recede; to yield advantage.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              These nine . . . began to give me ground. --Shak.
     To lose ground, to retire; to retreat; to withdraw from the
        position taken; hence, to lose advantage; to lose credit
        or reputation; to decline. -- To stand one's ground, to
        stand firm; to resist attack or encroachment.
        --Atterbury.{To take the ground to touch bottom or become
        stranded; -- said of a ship.
        [1913 Webster]

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) :   [ web1913 ]

  
  
     Ground furze (Bot.), a low slightly thorny, leguminous
        shrub ({Ononis arvensis) of Europe and Central Asia,; --
        called also rest-harrow.
  
     Ground game, hares, rabbits, etc., as distinguished from
        winged game.
  
     Ground hele (Bot.), a perennial herb ({Veronica
        officinalis) with small blue flowers, common in Europe
        and America, formerly thought to have curative properties.
        
  
     Ground of the heavens (Astron.), the surface of any part of
        the celestial sphere upon which the stars may be regarded
        as projected.
  
     Ground+hemlock+(Bot.),+the+yew+({Taxus+baccata" rel="nofollow">Ground hemlock (Bot.), the yew ({Taxus baccata var.
        Canadensisi) of eastern North America, distinguished from
        that of Europe by its low, straggling stems.
  
     Ground hog. (Zo["o]l.)
         (a) The woodchuck or American marmot ({Arctomys monax).
             See Woodchuck.
         (b) The aardvark.
  
     Ground hold (Naut.), ground tackle. [Obs.] --Spenser.
  
     Ground ice, ice formed at the bottom of a body of water
        before it forms on the surface.
  
     Ground ivy. (Bot.) A trailing plant; alehoof. See Gill.
        
  
     Ground joist, a joist for a basement or ground floor; a.
        sleeper.
  
     Ground lark (Zo["o]l.), the European pipit. See Pipit.
  
     Ground laurel (Bot.). See Trailing arbutus, under
        Arbutus.
  
     Ground line (Descriptive Geom.), the line of intersection
        of the horizontal and vertical planes of projection.
  
     Ground liverwort (Bot.), a flowerless plant with a broad
        flat forking thallus and the fruit raised on peduncled and
        radiated receptacles ({Marchantia polymorpha).
  
     Ground mail, in Scotland, the fee paid for interment in a
        churchyard.
  
     Ground mass (Geol.), the fine-grained or glassy base of a
        rock, in which distinct crystals of its constituents are
        embedded.
  
     Ground parrakeet (Zo["o]l.), one of several Australian
        parrakeets, of the genera Callipsittacus and
        Geopsittacus, which live mainly upon the ground.
  
     Ground pearl (Zo["o]l.), an insect of the family
        Coccid[ae]+({Margarodes+formicarum" rel="nofollow">Coccid[ae] ({Margarodes formicarum), found in ants'
        nests in the Bahamas, and having a shelly covering. They
        are strung like beads, and made into necklaces by the
        natives.
  
     Ground pig (Zo["o]l.), a large, burrowing, African rodent
        ({Aulacodus Swinderianus) about two feet long, allied to
        the porcupines but with harsh, bristly hair, and no
        spines; -- called also ground rat.
  
     Ground pigeon (Zo["o]l.), one of numerous species of
        pigeons which live largely upon the ground, as the
        tooth-billed pigeon ({Didunculus strigirostris), of the
        Samoan Islands, and the crowned pigeon, or goura. See
        Goura, and Ground dove (above).
  
     Ground pine. (Bot.)
         (a) A blue-flowered herb of the genus Ajuga ({A.
             Cham[ae]pitys), formerly included in the genus
             Teucrium or germander, and named from its resinous
             smell. --Sir J. Hill.
         (b) A long, creeping, evergreen plant of the genus
             Lycopodium+({L.+clavatum" rel="nofollow">Lycopodium ({L. clavatum); -- called also club
             moss.
         (c) A tree-shaped evergreen plant about eight inches in
             height, of the same genus ({L. dendroideum) found in
             moist, dark woods in the northern part of the United
             States. --Gray.
  
     Ground plan (Arch.), a plan of the ground floor of any
        building, or of any floor, as distinguished from an
        elevation or perpendicular section.
  
     Ground plane, the horizontal plane of projection in
        perspective drawing.
  
     Ground plate.
         (a) (Arch.) One of the chief pieces of framing of a
             building; a timber laid horizontally on or near the
             ground to support the uprights; a ground sill or
             groundsel.
         (b) (Railroads) A bed plate for sleepers or ties; a
             mudsill.
         (c) (Teleg.) A metallic plate buried in the earth to
             conduct the electric current thereto. Connection to
             the pipes of a gas or water main is usual in cities.
             --Knight.
  
     Ground plot, the ground upon which any structure is
        erected; hence, any basis or foundation; also, a ground
        plan.
  
     Ground plum (Bot.), a leguminous plant ({Astragalus
        caryocarpus) occurring from the Saskatchewan to Texas,
        and having a succulent plum-shaped pod.
  
     Ground rat. (Zo["o]l.) See Ground pig (above).
  
     Ground rent, rent paid for the privilege of building on
        another man's land.
  
     Ground robin. (Zo["o]l.) See Chewink.
  
     Ground room, a room on the ground floor; a lower room.
        --Tatler.
  
     Ground sea, the West Indian name for a swell of the ocean,
        which occurs in calm weather and without obvious cause,
        breaking on the shore in heavy roaring billows; -- called
        also rollers, and in Jamaica, the North sea.
  
     Ground sill. See Ground plate (a) (above).
  
     Ground snake (Zo["o]l.), a small burrowing American snake
        ({Celuta am[oe]na). It is salmon colored, and has a blunt
        tail.
  
     Ground squirrel. (Zo["o]l.)
         (a) One of numerous species of burrowing rodents of the
             genera Tamias and Spermophilus, having cheek
             pouches. The former genus includes the Eastern
             striped squirrel or chipmunk and some allied Western
             species; the latter includes the prairie squirrel or
             striped gopher, the gray gopher, and many allied
             Western species. See Chipmunk, and Gopher.
         (b) Any species of the African genus Xerus, allied to
             Tamias.
  
     Ground story. Same as Ground floor (above).
  
     Ground substance (Anat.), the intercellular substance, or
        matrix, of tissues.
  
     Ground swell.
         (a) (Bot.) The plant groundsel. [Obs.] --Holland.
         (b) A broad, deep swell or undulation of the ocean,
             caused by a long continued gale, and felt even at a
             remote distance after the gale has ceased.
  
     Ground table. (Arch.) See Earth table, under Earth.
  
     Ground tackle (Naut.), the tackle necessary to secure a
        vessel at anchor. --Totten.
  
     Ground thrush (Zo["o]l.), one of numerous species of
        bright-colored Oriental birds of the family Pittid[ae].
        See Pitta.
  
     Ground tier.
         (a) The lowest tier of water casks in a vessel's hold.
             --Totten.
         (b) The lowest line of articles of any kind stowed in a
             vessel's hold.
         (c) The lowest range of boxes in a theater.
  
     Ground timbers (Shipbuilding) the timbers which lie on the
        keel and are bolted to the keelson; floor timbers.
        --Knight.
  
     Ground tit. (Zo["o]l.) See Ground wren (below).
  
     Ground wheel, that wheel of a harvester, mowing machine,
        etc., which, rolling on the ground, drives the mechanism.
        
  
     Ground wren (Zo["o]l.), a small California bird ({Cham[ae]a
        fasciata) allied to the wrens and titmice. It inhabits
        the arid plains. Called also ground tit, and wren tit.
        
  
     To bite the ground, To break ground. See under Bite,
        Break.
  
     To come to the ground, To fall to the ground, to come to
        nothing; to fail; to miscarry.
  
     To gain ground.
         (a) To advance; to proceed forward in conflict; as, an
             army in battle gains ground.
         (b) To obtain an advantage; to have some success; as, the
             army gains ground on the enemy.
         (c) To gain credit; to become more prosperous or
             influential.
  
     To get, or To gather, ground, to gain ground. [R.]
        ``Evening mist . . . gathers ground fast.'' --Milton.
  
              There is no way for duty to prevail, and get ground
              of them, but by bidding higher.       --South.
  
     To give ground, to recede; to yield advantage.
  
              These nine . . . began to give me ground. --Shak.
  
     To lose ground, to retire; to retreat; to withdraw from the
        position taken; hence, to lose advantage; to lose credit
        or reputation; to decline.
  
     To stand one's ground, to stand firm; to resist attack or
        encroachment. --Atterbury.
  
     To take the ground to touch bottom or become stranded; --
        said of a ship.

From English-Hungarian FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.2.1 :   [ freedict:eng-hun ]

  to take the ground /tə tˈeɪk ðə ɡɹˈaʊnd/
  1. zátonyra fut
  2. megfeneklik

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