Etymologically
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groundwater

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 15:23. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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