n. [ Ground + -ling. ] 1. (Zool.) A fish that keeps at the bottom of the water, as the loach. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A spectator in the pit of a theater, which formerly was on the ground, and without floor or benches. [ 1913 Webster ]

No comic buffoon to make the groundlings laugh. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]