groundling
Americannoun
-
a plant or animal that lives on or close to the ground.
-
any of various fishes that live at the bottom of the water.
-
a spectator, reader, or other person of unsophisticated or uncultivated tastes; an uncritical or uncultured person.
-
a member of a theater audience who sits in one of the cheaper seats.
noun
-
any animal or plant that lives close to the ground or at the bottom of a lake, river, etc
-
-
(in Elizabethan theatre) a spectator standing in the yard in front of the stage and paying least
-
a spectator in the cheapest section of any theatre
-
-
a person on the ground as distinguished from one in an aircraft
Etymology
Origin of groundling
Explanation
In the 17th century, a groundling was an audience member in the theater's least expensive section. For the price of a penny, groundlings stood just below the stage to view plays. Groundlings, unable to afford an actual seat, were packed tightly together and stood throughout the entire show. Three British venues admitted groundlings, one of them being the famous Globe Theatre, for which Shakespeare wrote his plays. The Shakespearean character Hamlet even refers to groundlings in the first known written reference to the word. Today groundlings is used for unsophisticated audience members, rather than people paying a penny to stand in the theater's pit.
Vocabulary lists containing groundling
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Shakespeare
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 3
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Through these seemingly frivolous details, Swen says, “they’re having kind of the experience of being an actual groundling in Shakespeare’s time.”
From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2022
Last week New Hampshire and Vermont were hoisted out of the groundling class by a curious procedure.
From Time Magazine Archive
A self-confessed groundling, Managing Editor Matthews hopefully took along a brief case full of work and brought it back in exactly the same condition.
From Time Magazine Archive
Between pilots and their airplanes are secrets that no groundling can ever know.
From Time Magazine Archive
That’s one thing that hasn’t changed even after Maddie gave up her groundling membership and became one of the silk feathered hat people.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
