Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Debatable \De*bat"a*ble\, a. [Cf. OF. debatable. See {Debate}.]
   Liable to be debated; disputable; subject to controversy or
   contention; open to question or dispute; as, a debatable
   question.

   {The Debatable Land} or {Ground}, a tract of land between the
      Esk and the Sark, claimed by both England and Scotland;
      the Batable Ground.

Grind \Grind\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Ground}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Grinding}.] [AS. grindan; perh. akin to L. frendere to
   gnash, grind. Cf. {Grist}.]
   1. To reduce to powder by friction, as in a mill, or with the
      teeth; to crush into small fragments; to produce as by the
      action of millstones.

            Take the millstones, and grind meal.  --Is. xivii.
                                                  2.

   2. To wear down, polish, or sharpen, by friction; to make
      smooth, sharp, or pointed; to whet, as a knife or drill;
      to rub against one another, as teeth, etc.

   3. To oppress by severe exactions; to harass.

            To grind the subject or defraud the prince.
                                                  --Dryden.

   4. To study hard for examination. [College Slang]

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.

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

   Note: 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. (Elec.) A conducting connection with the earth, whereby
      the earth is made part of an electrical circuit.

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

   11. The pit of a theater. [Obs.] --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}. (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 {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 ({P. 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 \Ground\ (ground), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Grounded}; p. pr.
   & vb. n. {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. (Elec.) 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}, n., 5); or as paper or other
      materials with a uniform tint as a preparation for
      ornament.

Ground \Ground\, v. i.
   To run aground; to strike the bottom and remain fixed; as,
   the ship grounded on the bar.

Ground \Ground\,
   imp. & p. p. 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.

Source : WordNet®

ground
     See {grind}

grind
     n 1: an insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected
          or studying excessively [syn: {swot}, {nerd}, {wonk}, {dweeb}]
     2: hard monotonous routine work [syn: {drudgery}, {plodding}, {donkeywork}]
     3: the act of grinding to a powder or dust [syn: {mill}, {pulverization},
         {pulverisation}]
     [also: {ground}]

grind
     v 1: press or grind with a crunching noise [syn: {crunch}, {cranch},
           {craunch}]
     2: make a grating or grinding sound by rubbing together; "grate
        one's teeth in anger" [syn: {grate}]
     3: reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading;
        "grind the spices in a mortar"; "mash the garlic" [syn: {mash},
         {crunch}, {bray}, {comminute}]
     4: work hard; "She was digging away at her math homework";
        "Lexicographers drudge all day long" [syn: {labor}, {labour},
         {toil}, {fag}, {travail}, {drudge}, {dig}, {moil}]
     5: dance by rotating the pelvis in an erotically suggestive
        way, often while in contact with one's partner such that
        the dancers' legs are interlaced
     [also: {ground}]

ground
     adj : broken or pounded into small fragments; used of e.g. ore or
           stone; "paved with crushed bluestone"; "ground glass is
           used as an abrasive" [syn: {crushed}]

ground
     n 1: the solid part of the earth's surface; "the plane turned
          away from the sea and moved back over land"; "the earth
          shook for several minutes"; "he dropped the logs on the
          ground" [syn: {land}, {dry land}, {earth}, {solid ground},
           {terra firma}]
     2: a rational motive for a belief or action; "the reason that
        war was declared"; "the grounds for their declaration"
        [syn: {reason}]
     3: the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the
        land surface; "they dug into the earth outside the church"
        [syn: {earth}]
     4: a relation that provides the foundation for something; "they
        were on a friendly footing"; "he worked on an interim
        basis" [syn: {footing}, {basis}]
     5: a position to be won or defended in battle (or as if in
        battle); "they gained ground step by step"; "they fought
        to regain the lost ground"
     6: the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in
        the foreground; "he posed her against a background of
        rolling hills" [syn: {background}]
     7: material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in
        which plants can grow (especially with reference to its
        quality or use); "the land had never been plowed"; "good
        agricultural soil" [syn: {land}, {soil}]
     8: a relatively homogeneous percept extending back of the
        figure on which attention is focused [ant: {figure}]
     9: a connection between an electrical device and the earth
        (which is a zero voltage) [syn: {earth}]
     10: (art) the surface (as a wall or canvas) prepared to take the
         paint for a painting
     11: the first or preliminary coat of paint or size applied to a
         surface [syn: {flat coat}, {primer}, {priming}, {primer
         coat}, {priming coat}, {undercoat}]

ground
     v 1: fix firmly and stably; "anchor the lamppost in concrete"
          [syn: {anchor}]
     2: confine or restrict to the ground; "After the accident, they
        grounded the plane and the pilot"
     3: place or put on the ground
     4: instruct someone in the fundamentals of a subject
     5: bring to the ground; "the storm grounded the ship" [syn: {run
        aground}]
     6: hit or reach the ground [syn: {run aground}]
     7: throw to the ground in order to stop play and avoid being
        tackled behind the line of scrimmage
     8: hit a groundball; "he grounded to the second baseman"
     9: hit onto the ground
     10: cover with a primer; apply a primer to [syn: {prime}, {undercoat}]
     11: connect to a ground; "ground the electrical connections for
         safety reasons"
     12: use as a basis for; found on; "base a claim on some
         observation" [syn: {establish}, {base}, {found}]