Groundwork

How to spell groundwork

10 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce groundwork

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does groundwork mean?

1. nounThe preparatory or foundational work that makes a later result possible.

Groundwork in a sentence

• Months of research laid the groundwork for the merger.

• The lawyers did the groundwork before the negotiations began.

Where does groundwork come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound, joining two very old Anglo-Saxon words. 'Ground' descends from the Old English 'grund', which meant the bottom or foundation of something, including the floor of the sea or the base of a building, and it traces back to Germanic roots shared with German 'Grund'. 'Work' comes from the Old English 'weorc', meaning labour or a thing made, with relatives across the Germanic languages such as German 'Werk'. By the eighteenth century the two were welded together to describe the foundation course of a wall or building, the solid base on which the rest is raised. From that literal building sense it quickly took on the figurative meaning still common today: the preparatory effort that supports a later achievement. Because both halves are familiar everyday words, the spelling is regular, with no silent letters or doubled consonants to trip the writer.

How the word is built

• ground (the earth, base)
• work (labour, construction); a compound meaning the foundation or preparatory effort