Etymograph

English

ground

Ground comes from Old English grund, from Proto-Germanic *grunduz ‘ground, foundation’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem- ‘floor, settlement’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰrem-‘floor, settlement’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grunduz‘ground, foundation’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grundureconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150grund
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ground
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1503–1512same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰrem-‘floor, settlement’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grunduz‘ground, foundation’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grundureconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150grund
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ground
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1503–1512same form

Earliest quotation: c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood: “Wyth cry unreverent, Before the sacrament, Wythin the holy…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem- ‘floor, settlement’

grim, grunting, pogrom, 5 more

through Proto-Germanic *grunduz ‘ground, foundation’

groin, 1 more

Today it means

noun The surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky or water or underground.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem- / ground

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