Grope (grōp) intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Groped (grōpt); present participle & verbal noun Groping .] [ Middle English gropen , gropien , grapien , Anglo-Saxon grāpian to touch, grope, from grīpan to gripe. See Gripe .]
1. To feel with or use the hands; to handle. [ Obsolete]

2. To search or attempt to find something in the dark, or, as a blind person, by feeling; to move about hesitatingly, as in darkness or obscurity; to feel one's way, as with the hands, when one can not see.

We grope for the wall like the blind.

Is. lix. 10.

To grope a little longer among the miseries and sensualities ot a worldly life.

Buckminster.

Grope transitive verb
1. To search out by feeling in the dark; as, we groped our way at midnight.

2. To examine; to test; to sound. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Felix gropeth him, thinking to have a bribe.

Genevan Test. (Acts xxiv. ).

Groper noun One who gropes; one who feels his way in the dark, or searches by feeling.

Groping-ly adverb In a groping manner.

Gros noun [ French See Gross .] A heavy silk with a dull finish; as, gros de Naples; gros de Tours.

Grosbeak noun [ Gross + beak: confer F. gros-bec .] (Zoology) One of various species of finches having a large, stout beak. The common European grosbeak or hawfinch is Coccothraustes vulgaris .

» Among the best known American species are the rose-breasted ( Habia Ludoviciana ); the blue ( Guiraca cœrulea ); the pine ( Pinicola enucleator ); and the evening grosbeak. See Hawfinch , and Cardinal grosbeak , Evening grosbeak , under Cardinal and Evening . [ Written also grossbeak .]

Groschen noun [ G.] A small silver coin and money of account of Germany, worth about two cents. It is not included in the new monetary system of the empire.

Grosgrain adjective [ French Confer Grogram .] Of a coarse texture; -- applied to silk with a heavy thread running crosswise.

Gross adjective [ Compar. Grosser ; superl. Grossest .] [ French gros , Latin grossus , perhaps from Latin crassus thick, dense, fat, English crass , confer Sanskrit grathita tied together, wound up, hardened. Confer Engross , Grocer , Grogram .]
1. Great; large; bulky; fat; of huge size; excessively large. "A gross fat man." Shak.

A gross body of horse under the Duke.

Milton.

2. Coarse; rough; not fine or delicate.

3. Not easily aroused or excited; not sensitive in perception or feeling; dull; witless.

Tell her of things that no gross ear can hear.

Milton.

4. Expressing, or originating in, animal or sensual appetites; hence, coarse, vulgar, low, obscene, or impure.

The terms which are delicate in one age become gross in the next.

Macaulay.

5. Thick; dense; not attenuated; as, a gross medium.

6. Great; palpable; serious; vagrant; shameful; as, a gross mistake; gross injustice; gross negligence.

7. Whole; entire; total; without deduction; as, the gross sum, or gross amount, the gross weight; -- opposed to net .

Gross adventure (Law) the loan of money upon bottomry, i. e. , on a mortgage of a ship. -- Gross average (Law) , that kind of average which falls upon the gross or entire amount of ship, cargo, and freight; -- commonly called general average . Bouvier. Burrill. -- Gross receipts , the total of the receipts, before they are diminished by any deduction, as for expenses; -- distinguished from net profits . Abbott. -- Gross weight the total weight of merchandise or goods, without deduction for tare, tret, or waste; -- distinguished from neat, or net, weight .

Gross noun [ French gros (in sense 1), grosse (in sense 2). See Gross , adjective ]
1. The main body; the chief part, bulk, or mass. "The gross of the enemy." Addison.

For the gross of the people, they are considered as a mere herd of cattle.

Burke.

2. sing. & plural The number of twelve dozen; twelve times twelve; as, a gross of bottles; ten gross of pens.

Advowson in gross (Law) , an advowson belonging to a person, and not to a manor. -- A great gross , twelve gross; one hundred and forty-four dozen. -- By the gross , by the quantity; at wholesale. -- Common in gross . (Law) See under Common , noun -- In the gross , In gross , in the bulk, or the undivided whole; all parts taken together.

Gross-headed adjective Thick- skulled; stupid.

Grossbeak noun (Zoology) See Grosbeak .

Grossification noun [ Gross + Latin ficare (in comp.) to make. See - fy .]
1. The act of making gross or thick, or the state of becoming so.

2. (Botany) The swelling of the ovary of plants after fertilization. Henslow.

Grossly adverb In a gross manner; greatly; coarsely; without delicacy; shamefully; disgracefully.

Grossness noun The state or quality of being gross; thickness; corpulence; coarseness; shamefulness.

Abhor the swinish grossness that delights to wound the' ear of delicacy.

Dr. T. Dwight.

Grossular adjective [ New Latin grossularius , from Grossularia a subgenus of Ribes , including the gooseberry, from French groseille . See Gooseberry .] Pertaining too, or resembling, a gooseberry; as, grossular garnet.

Grossular noun [ See Grossular , adjective ] (Min.) A translucent garnet of a pale green color like that of the gooseberry; -- called also grossularite .

Grossularia noun [ New Latin See Grossular .] (Min.) Same as Grossular .

Grossulin noun [ See Grossular .] (Chemistry) A vegetable jelly, resembling pectin, found in gooseberries ( Ribes Grossularia ) and other fruits.

Grot (grŏt) noun [ French grotte , Italian grotta . See Grotto .] A grotto. [ Poetic] Milton.

Grot, Grote noun A groat. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Grotesque (gro*tĕsk") adjective [ French, from Italian grottesco , from grotta grotto. See Grotto .] Like the figures found in ancient grottoes; grottolike; wildly or strangely formed; whimsical; extravagant; of irregular forms and proportions; fantastic; ludicrous; antic. " Grotesque design." Dryden. " Grotesque incidents." Macaulay.

Grotesque noun
1. A whimsical figure, or scene, such as is found in old crypts and grottoes. Dryden.

2. Artificial grotto-work.

Grotesquely adverb In a grotesque manner.

Grotesqueness noun Quality of being grotesque.

Grotesquery noun [ Written also grotesquerie .] [ From Grotesque .] Grotesque action, speech, or manners; grotesque doings. "The sustained grotesquery of Feather-top." K. Latin Bates.

Vileness, on the other hand, becomes grotesquerie , wonderfully converted into a subject of laughter.

George Gissing.

Grotto (grŏt"to) noun ; plural Grottoes (-tōz). [ Formerly grotta , from Italian grotta , Late Latin grupta , from Latin crypta a concealed subterranean passage, vault, cavern, Greek kry`pth , from krypto`s concealed, from kry`ptein to conceal. Confer Grot , Crypt .] A natural covered opening in the earth; a cave; also, an artificial recess, cave, or cavernlike apartment.

Grotto-work noun Artificial and ornamental rockwork in imitation of a grotto. Cowper.

Ground (ground) noun [ Middle English ground , grund , Anglo-Saxon grund ; akin to Dutch grond , Old Saxon , G., Swedish , & Danish grund , Icelandic grunnr bottom, Goth. grundus (in composition); perhaps orig. meaning, dust, gravel, and if so perhaps akin to English grind .]
1. The surface of the earth; the outer crust of the globe, or some indefinite portion of it.

There was not a man to till the ground .

Gen. ii. 5.

The fire ran along upon the ground .

Ex. ix. 23.

Hence: A floor or pavement supposed to rest upon the earth.

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 .

From . . . old Euphrates, to the brook that parts Egypt from Syrian ground .

Milton.

3. Land; estate; possession; field; esp. ( plural ), the gardens, lawns, fields, etc., belonging to a homestead; as, the grounds of the estate are well kept.

Thy next design is on thy neighbor's grounds .

Dryden. 4.

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.

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 .

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.

7. (Architecture) One of the pieces of wood, flush with the plastering, to which moldings, etc., are attached; -- usually in the plural.

» Grounds are usually put up first and the plastering floated flush with them.

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.).

On that ground I'll build a holy descant.

Shak.

9. (Electricity) A conducting connection with the earth, whereby the earth is made part of an electrical circuit.

10. plural Sediment at the bottom of liquors or liquids; dregs; lees; feces; as, coffee grounds.

11. The pit of a theater. [ Obsolete] B. Jonson.

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 . (Botany) 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 base (Mus.) , fundamental base; a fundamental base continually repeated to a varied melody. -- Ground beetle (Zoology) , one of numerous species of carnivorous beetles of the family Carabidæ , living mostly in burrows or under stones, etc. -- Ground chamber , a room on the ground floor. -- Ground cherry . (Botany) (a) A genus ( Physalis ) of herbaceous plants having an inflated calyx for a seed pod: esp., the strawberry tomato ( P. Alkekengi ). See Alkekengl . (b) A European shrub ( Prunus Chamæcerasus ), with small, very acid fruit. -- Ground cuckoo . (Zoology) See Chaparral cock . -- Ground cypress . (Botany) See Lavender cotton . -- Ground dove (Zoology) , 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 (Zoology) , 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 (Botany) , 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 (Botany) , 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 (Botany) , the yew ( Taxus baccata var. Canadensisi ) of eastern North America, distinguished from that of Europe by its low, straggling stems. -- Ground hog . (Zoology) (a) The woodchuck or American marmot ( Arctomys monax ). See Woodchuck . (b) The aardvark. -- Ground hold (Nautical) , ground tackle. [ Obsolete] Spenser. -- Ground ice , ice formed at the bottom of a body of water before it forms on the surface. -- Ground ivy . (Botany) A trailing plant; alehoof. See Gill . -- Ground joist , a joist for a basement or ground floor; adjective sleeper. -- Ground lark (Zoology) , the European pipit. See Pipit . - - Ground laurel (Botany) . See Trailing arbutus , under Arbutus . -- Ground line (Descriptive Geom.) , the line of intersection of the horizontal and vertical planes of projection. -- Ground liverwort (Botany) , 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 (Zoology) , one of several Australian parrakeets, of the genera Callipsittacus and Geopsittacus , which live mainly upon the ground. -- Ground pearl (Zoology) , an insect of the family Coccidæ ( 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 (Zoology) , 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 (Zoology) , 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 . (Botany) (a) A blue-flowered herb of the genus Ajuga ( A. Chamæpitys ), 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 ( Latin clavatum ); -- called also club moss . (c) A tree-shaped evergreen plant about eight inches in height, of the same genus ( Latin dendroideum ) found in moist, dark woods in the northern part of the United States. Gray. -- Ground plan (Architecture) , 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) (Architecture) 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 (Botany) , a leguminous plant ( Astragalus caryocarpus ) occurring from the Saskatchewan to Texas, and having a succulent plum-shaped pod. -- Ground rat . (Zoology) See Ground pig ( above ). -- Ground rent , rent paid for the privilege of building on another man's land. -- Ground robin . (Zoology) 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 (Zoology) , a small burrowing American snake ( Celuta amœna ). It is salmon colored, and has a blunt tail. -- Ground squirrel . (Zoology) (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) (Botany) The plant groundsel. [ Obsolete] 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 . (Architecture) See Earth table, under Earth. -- Ground tackle (Nautical) , the tackle necessary to secure a vessel at anchor. Totten. -- Ground thrush (Zoology) , one of numerous species of bright-colored Oriental birds of the family Pittidæ . 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 . (Zoology) See Ground wren ( below ). - - Ground wheel , that wheel of a harvester, mowing machine, etc., which, rolling on the ground, drives the mechanism. -- Ground wren (Zoology) , a small California bird ( Chamæa 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.

Ground (ground) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Grounded ; present participle & verbal noun Grounding .]
1. To lay, set, or run, on the ground.

2. To found; to fix or set, as on a foundation, reason, or principle; to furnish a ground for; to fix firmly.

Being rooted and grounded in love.

Eph. iii. 17.

So far from warranting any inference to the existence of a God, would, on the contrary, ground even an argument to his negation.

Sir W. Hamilton

3. To instruct in elements or first principles.

4. (Electricity) To connect with the ground so as to make the earth a part of an electrical circuit.

5. (Fine Arts) To cover with a ground, as a copper plate for etching (see Ground , noun , 5); or as paper or other materials with a uniform tint as a preparation for ornament.

Ground intransitive verb To run aground; to strike the bottom and remain fixed; as, the ship grounded on the bar.

Ground imperfect & past participle of Grind .

Ground cock , a cock, the plug of which is ground into its seat, as distinguished from a compression cock. Knight. -- Ground glass , glass the transparency of which has been destroyed by having its surface roughened by grinding. -- Ground joint , a close joint made by grinding together two pieces, as of metal with emery and oil, or of glass with fine sand and water.

Groundage noun A local tax paid by a ship for the ground or space it occupies while in port. Bouvier.

Groundedly adverb In a grounded or firmly established manner. Glanvill.

Grounden obsolete past participle of Grind . Chaucer.

Grounding noun The act, method, or process of laying a groundwork or foundation; hence, elementary instruction; the act or process of applying a ground, as of color, to wall paper, cotton cloth, etc.; a basis.

Groundless adjective [ Anglo-Saxon grundleás bottomless.] Without ground or foundation; wanting cause or reason for support; not authorized; false; as, groundless fear; a groundless report or assertion. -- Ground"less*ly , adverb -- Ground"less*ness , noun

Groundling noun [ Ground + - ling .]
1. (Zoology) A fish that keeps at the bottom of the water, as the loach.

2. A spectator in the pit of a theater, which formerly was on the ground, and without floor or benches.

No comic buffoon to make the groundlings laugh.

Coleridge.

Groundly adverb Solidly; deeply; thoroughly. [ Obsolete]

Those whom princes do once groundly hate, Let them provide to die as sure us fate.

Marston.

Groundnut (-nŭt`) noun (Botany) (a) The fruit of the Arachis hypogæa (native country uncertain); the peanut; the earthnut. (b) A leguminous, twining plant ( Apios tuberosa ), producing clusters of dark purple flowers and having a root tuberous and pleasant to the taste. (c) The dwarf ginseng ( Aralia trifolia ). [ U. S.] Gray. (d) A European plant of the genus Bunium ( B. flexuosum ), having an edible root of a globular shape and sweet, aromatic taste; -- called also earthnut , earth chestnut , hawknut , and pignut .
[ 1913 Webster]

Groundsel noun [ Middle English grundswilie , Anglo-Saxon grundeswylige , grundeswelge , earlier gundiswilge ; gund matter, pus + swelgan to swallow. So named as being good for a running from the eye. See Swallow , v. ] (Botany) An annual composite plant ( Senecio vulgaris ), one of the most common and widely distributed weeds on the globe.

Groundsel, Groundsill noun [ Ground + sill .] See Ground plate (a) , under Ground

Groundwork (-wûrk`) noun That which forms the foundation or support of anything; the basis; the essential or fundamental part; first principle. Dryden.

Group (grōp) noun [ F groupe , Italian gruppo , groppo , cluster, bunch, packet, group; of G. origin: confer German kropf craw, crop, tumor, bunch. See Crop , noun ]
1. A cluster, crowd, or throng; an assemblage, either of persons or things, collected without any regular form or arrangement; as, a group of men or of trees; a group of isles.

2. An assemblage of objects in a certain order or relation, or having some resemblance or common characteristic; as, groups of strata.

3. (Biol.) A variously limited assemblage of animals or plants, having some resemblance, or common characteristics in form or structure. The term has different uses, and may be made to include certain species of a genus, or a whole genus, or certain genera, or even several orders.

4. (Mus.) A number of eighth, sixteenth, etc., notes joined at the stems; -- sometimes rather indefinitely applied to any ornament made up of a few short notes.

Group transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Grouped ; present participle & verbal noun Grouping .] [ Confer French grouper . See Group , noun ] To form a group of; to arrange or combine in a group or in groups, often with reference to mutual relation and the best effect; to form an assemblage of.

The difficulty lies in drawing and disposing, or, as the painters term it, in grouping such a multitude of different objects.

Prior.

Grouped columns (Architecture) , three or more columns placed upon the same pedestal.

Grouper noun [ Corrupted from Portuguese garupa crupper. Confer Garbupa .] (Zoology) (a) One of several species of valuable food fishes of the genus Epinephelus , of the family Serranidæ , as the red grouper, or brown snapper ( E. morio ), and the black grouper, or warsaw ( E. nigritus ), both from Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. (b) The tripletail ( Lobotes ). (c) In California, the name is often applied to the rockfishes. [ Written also groper , gruper , and trooper .]

Grouping noun (Fine Arts) The disposal or relative arrangement of figures or objects, as in, drawing, painting, and sculpture, or in ornamental design.

Grouse noun sing. & plural [ Prob. after the analogy of mouse, mice, from the earlier grice , Old French griesche meor hen: confer French piegrièche shrike.] (Zoology) Any of the numerous species of gallinaceous birds of the family Tetraonidæ , and subfamily Tetraoninæ , inhabiting Europe, Asia, and North America. They have plump bodies, strong, well-feathered legs, and usually mottled plumage. The group includes the ptarmigans ( Lagopus ), having feathered feet.

» Among the European species are the red grouse ( Lagopus Scoticus ) and the hazel grouse ( Bonasa betulina ). See Capercaidzie , Ptarmigan , and Heath grouse . Among the most important American species are the ruffed grouse, or New England partridge ( Bonasa umbellus ); the sharp-tailed grouse ( Pediocætes phasianellus ) of the West; the dusky blue, or pine grouse ( Dendragapus obscurus ) of the Rocky Mountains; the Canada grouse, or spruce partridge ( D. Canadensis ). See also Prairie hen , and Sage cock . The Old World sand grouse ( Pterocles , etc. ) belong to a very different family. See Pterocletes , and Sand grouse .

Grouse intransitive verb To seek or shoot grouse.

Grouser noun (Dredging, Pile Driving, etc.) A pointed timber attached to a boat and sliding vertically, to thrust into the ground as a means of anchorage.