Adjacent Words

ground cherry definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any of numerous cosmopolitan annual or perennial herbs of the genus Physalis bearing edible fleshy berries enclosed in a bladderlike husk; some cultivated for their flowers [syn: ground cherry, husk tomato]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Alkekengi Al`ke*ken"gi, n. [Cf. F. alk['e]kenge, Sp. alquequenje, ultimately fr. Ar. al-k[=a]kanj a kind of resin from Herat.] (Bot.) An herbaceous plant of the nightshade family (Physalis alkekengi) and its fruit, which is a well flavored berry, the size of a cherry, loosely inclosed in a enlarged leafy calyx; -- also called winter cherry, ground cherry, and strawberry tomato. --D. C. Eaton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cherry Cher"ry, n. [OE. chery, for cherys, fr. F. cerise (cf. AS. cyrs cherry), fr. LL. ceresia, fr. L. cerasus Cherry tree, Gr. ?, perh. fr. ? horn, from the hardness of the wood.] 1. (Bot.) A tree or shrub of the genus Prunus (Which also includes the plum) bearing a fleshy drupe with a bony stone; (a) The common garden cherry (Prunus Cerasus), of which several hundred varieties are cultivated for the fruit, some of which are, the begarreau, blackheart, black Tartarian, oxheart, morelle or morello, May-duke (corrupted from M['e]doc in France). (b) The wild cherry; as, Prunus serotina (wild black cherry), valued for its timber; P. Virginiana (choke cherry), an American shrub which bears astringent fruit; P. avium and P. Padus, European trees (bird cherry). 2. The fruit of the cherry tree, a drupe of various colors and flavors. 3. The timber of the cherry tree, esp. of the black cherry, used in cabinetmaking, etc. 4. A peculiar shade of red, like that of a cherry. Barbadoes cherry. See under Barbadoes. Cherry bird (Zo["o]l.), an American bird; the cedar bird; -- so called from its fondness for cherries. Cherry bounce, cherry brandy and sugar. Cherry brandy, brandy in which cherries have been steeped. Cherry laurel (Bot.), an evergreen shrub (Prunus Lauro-cerasus) common in shrubberies, the poisonous leaves of which have a flavor like that of bitter almonds. Cherry pepper (Bot.), a species of Capsicum (C. cerasiforme), with small, scarlet, intensely piquant cherry-shaped fruit. Cherry pit. (a) A child's play, in which cherries are thrown into a hole. --Shak. (b) A cherry stone. Cherry rum, rum in which cherries have been steeped. Cherry sucker (Zo["o]l.), the European spotted flycatcher (Musicapa grisola); -- called also cherry chopper cherry snipe. Cherry tree, a tree that bears cherries. Ground cherry, Winter cherry, See Alkekengi.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.