[syn: ground pine, yellow bugle, Ajuga chamaepitys]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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 (Zool.), 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. (Zool.) See Chaparral cock.
Ground cypress. (Bot.) See Lavender cotton.
Ground dove (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), 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 var.
Canadensisi) of eastern North America, distinguished from
that of Europe by its low, straggling stems.
Ground hog. (Zool.)
(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 (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), one of several Australian
parrakeets, of the genera Callipsittacus and
Geopsittacus, which live mainly upon the ground.
Ground pearl (Zool.), an insect of the family 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 (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), 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); -- 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. (Zool.) See Ground pig (above).
Ground rent, rent paid for the privilege of building on
another man's land.
Ground robin. (Zool.) 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 (Zool.), a small burrowing American snake
(Celuta am[oe]na). It is salmon colored, and has a blunt
tail.
Ground squirrel. (Zool.)
(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 (Zool.), 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. (Zool.) See Ground wren (below).
Ground wheel, that wheel of a harvester, mowing machine,
etc., which, rolling on the ground, drives the mechanism.
Ground wren (Zool.), 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]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Pine \Pine\, n. [AS. p[imac]n, L. pinus.]
1. (Bot.) Any tree of the coniferous genus Pinus. See
Pinus.
[1913 Webster]
Note: There are about twenty-eight species in the United
States, of which the white pine (Pinus Strobus),
the Georgia pine (Pinus australis), the red pine
(Pinus resinosa), and the great West Coast sugar
pine (Pinus Lambertiana) are among the most
valuable. The Scotch pine or fir, also called
Norway or Riga pine (Pinus sylvestris), is the
only British species. The nut pine is any pine tree,
or species of pine, which bears large edible seeds. See
Pinon.
[1913 Webster] The spruces, firs, larches, and true
cedars, though formerly considered pines, are now
commonly assigned to other genera.
[1913 Webster]
2. The wood of the pine tree.
[1913 Webster]
3. A pineapple.
[1913 Webster]
Ground pine. (Bot.) See under Ground.
Norfolk Island pine (Bot.), a beautiful coniferous tree,
the Araucaria excelsa.
Pine barren, a tract of infertile land which is covered
with pines. [Southern U.S.]
Pine borer (Zool.), any beetle whose larv[ae] bore into
pine trees.
Pine finch. (Zool.) See Pinefinch, in the Vocabulary.
Pine grosbeak (Zool.), a large grosbeak (Pinicola
enucleator), which inhabits the northern parts of both
hemispheres. The adult male is more or less tinged with
red.
Pine lizard (Zool.), a small, very active, mottled gray
lizard (Sceloporus undulatus), native of the Middle
States; -- called also swift, brown scorpion, and
alligator.
Pine marten. (Zool.)
(a) A European weasel (Mustela martes), called also
sweet marten, and yellow-breasted marten.
(b) The American sable. See Sable.
Pine moth (Zool.), any one of several species of small
tortricid moths of the genus Retinia, whose larv[ae]
burrow in the ends of the branchlets of pine trees, often
doing great damage.
Pine mouse (Zool.), an American wild mouse (Arvicola
pinetorum), native of the Middle States. It lives in pine
forests.
Pine needle (Bot.), one of the slender needle-shaped leaves
of a pine tree. See Pinus.
Pine-needle wool. See Pine wool (below).
Pine oil, an oil resembling turpentine, obtained from fir
and pine trees, and used in making varnishes and colors.
Pine snake (Zool.), a large harmless North American snake
(Pituophis melanoleucus). It is whitish, covered with
brown blotches having black margins. Called also bull
snake. The Western pine snake (Pituophis Sayi) is
chestnut-brown, mottled with black and orange.
Pine tree (Bot.), a tree of the genus Pinus; pine.
Pine-tree money, money coined in Massachusetts in the
seventeenth century, and so called from its bearing a
figure of a pine tree. The most noted variety is the pine
tree shilling.
Pine weevil (Zool.), any one of numerous species of weevils
whose larv[ae] bore in the wood of pine trees. Several
species are known in both Europe and America, belonging to
the genera Pissodes, Hylobius, etc.
Pine wool, a fiber obtained from pine needles by steaming
them. It is prepared on a large scale in some of the
Southern United States, and has many uses in the economic
arts; -- called also pine-needle wool, and pine-wood
wool.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
ground pine
n 1: any of several club mosses having long creeping stems and
erect branches [syn: ground pine, Christmas green]
2: low-growing annual with yellow flowers dotted red; faintly
aromatic of pine resin; Europe, British Isles and North
Africa [syn: ground pine, yellow bugle, Ajuga
chamaepitys]