term:

Ground

ground n

1 : the foundation or basis on which knowledge, belief, or conviction rests
: a premise, reason, or collection of data upon which something (as a legal action or argument) relies for validity [sued the city on the that the city…had wrongfully released…records "City of Lawton v. Moore, 868 P.2d 690 (1993)"] [listed adultery and alcoholism as the s for divorce]
2 : a piece or parcel of land [the design being to create high for use during overflow periods "Bright v. Perkins, 239 S.W.2d 281 (1951)"] [a sudden disruption of a piece of from one man's land "Porter v. Arkansas Western Gas Co., 482 S.W.2d 598 (1972)"]
ground·less adj

ground·less·ly adv

ground·less·ness n

vt : to furnish a ground for
: set on a basis [that court ed the disclosure requirement in negligence law "Scott v. Bradford, 606 P.2d 554 (1979)"] [an argument ed on erroneous assumptions]

Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.