Aground

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈɡɹaʊnd/

Definitions

1. Resting with the bottom of a vessel in contact with the ground beneath a body of water and unable to move freely
2. Being stuck or grounded on the seabed or riverbed which prevents a craft from sailing
3. Describing a boat or ship that stands on the underwater surface and is not afloat or drifting

Etymology: "Aground" is a plain compound: the prefix "a-", meaning "on" or "in", joined to "ground". Middle English speakers wrote it as "agrounde" or "on grounde", literally "on ground", so the word describes a vessel that has run onto the bottom of the water and can no longer float freely. The "a-" prefix is the same one found in words like "afoot", "ashore" and "asleep", where it similarly fixes a thing in a particular position or state. The word is therefore a precise description of location rather than of damage: a ship can be aground without being wrecked, and it may simply be waiting for the tide to lift it off again.

Synonyms: stranded, beached