Grot
(Grot, Grote) n. A groat. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Grotesque
(Gro*tesque") a. [F., fr. It. grottesco, fr. 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
(Gro*tesque), n.
1. A whimsical figure, or scene, such as is found in old crypts and grottoes. Dryden.
2. Artificial grotto-work.
Grotesquely
(Gro*tesque"ly), adv. In a grotesque manner.
Grotesqueness
(Gro*tesque"ness), n. Quality of being grotesque.
Grotto
(Grot"to) n.; pl. Grottoes [Formerly grotta, fr. It. grotta, LL. grupta, fr. L. crypta a concealed
subterranean passage, vault, cavern, Gr. kry`pth, fr. krypto`s concealed, fr. kry`ptein to conceal.
Cf. Grot, Crypt.] A natural covered opening in the earth; a cave; also, an artificial recess, cave, or
cavernlike apartment.
Grotto-work
(Grot"to-work`) n. Artificial and ornamental rockwork in imitation of a grotto. Cowper.
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.
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. 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.
