I. ˈgrau̇n(d)səl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English groundeswele, from Old English grundeswelge, from grunde, grund ground + -swelge (from swelgan to swallow, absorb), probably by folk etymology from earlier gundæswelge, from gund pus + -swelge; akin to Old High German gund, gunt pus, Norwegian dialect gund scab, Gothic gund cancerous abscess, Greek kanthylē tumor, swelling — more at ground , swallow
: an herb of the genus Senecio (especially S. vulgaris in England and S. aureus intercursus in America) that is used sometimes as an emmenagogue
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English gronsell, ground sille, from ground + sille sill — more at sill
1. archaic : a bed piece or foundation timber supporting a timber superstructure (as a wooden house or a set of mine timbers)
2. archaic : the lowest piece or the foundation of a structure : a fundamental principle : basis