groundling noun. ['graʊndlɪŋ] E17.
[from GROUND noun + -LING¹. Cf. Middle Dutch grundelinck (Dutch grondeling), Middle High German grundelinc (German Gründling) gudgeon.]
1. Any of various small bottom-dwelling freshwater fishes, esp. a gudgeon or a loach. E17.

2. A frequenter of the pit of a theatre (see GROUND noun 10b); an ignorant or undiscerning spectator or reader. Chiefly literary. E17.
■ J. A. Symonds The soliloquies of Hamlet..must have been lost upon the groundlings of Elizabeth's days.

3. A creeping or low-growing plant. E19.

4. A person on the ground, as opp. to one in an aircraft or spacecraft. M20.
Guardian Of the R.A.F.'s courage and skill it would be almost presumptuous for any mere groundling to speak.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲