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groundwater

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Etymology and origin of the English word groundwater

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1657 translation of B. Valentinus, Last Will and Testament
Ultimate origin
Old English grund,wæterian
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English ground
English groundwater
From the same root
English playground ← ground

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈɡraʊndˌwɔːtə(r)/[1]
  • US: /ˈɡraʊndˌwɑːt̬ɚ/, /ˈɡraʊndˌwɔːt̬ɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English ground + water.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Water held in the soil and in the pores and crevices of rock: 1657, in an English translation of B. Valentinus's Last Will and Testament.[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1890 and Merriam-Webster to about 1889;[3][4] Etymonline also finds it from the mid 15th century in the sense "water at the bottom of a stream".[3]

Semantic evolution

In the OED's revised definition the word means especially water below the water table, and more widely any underground water as distinct from surface water.[2] In hydrology it means specifically water in the zone of saturation, where all openings in rock and soil are filled, and whose upper surface forms the water table.[4][5]

Timeline

  • mid 15th century – water at the bottom of a stream.[3]
  • 1657 – underground water in soil and rock.[2]
  • c. 1889 – Merriam-Webster's first known use.[4]
  • 1890 – Etymonline's date for the sense "water in the ground".[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Water held beneath the surface in soil and in the pores and cracks of rock, which feeds wells and springs: The village draws its drinking water from groundwater.[4][6][7][2]
  2. (hydrology) Specifically, water in the zone of saturation, whose upper surface forms the water table.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  6. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Groundwater.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/groundwater. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·