training groundn.
/ˈtreɪnɪŋ ɡraʊnd/, U.S. /ˈtreɪnɪŋ ˌɡraʊnd/ 1. A place used for training; spec. an area where soldiers, militia, reservists, or volunteers gather for training or drill. Also figurative.
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society > armed hostility > drill or training > [noun] > place for training
Campe of Marsa1533
military yard1618
training ground1644
Camp Mart1647
training camp1825
boot camp1916
battle-school1942
1644 in D. G. Hill Dedham (Mass.) Rec. (1892) III. 102 From the Trayning ground to the Cart Bridge.
1803 W. Taplin Sporting Dict. II. 416 He was travelled long journies to the North, where meeting the most celebrated horses fresh upon their own training-ground, he was repeatedly beat, but ran handsome.
1816 W. Gifford in B. Jonson Wks. I. 118 Or sees at Mile-end.] The usual training ground of the city.
1864 F. C. Bowen Treat. Logic xiii. 450 To make them [sc. the sciences] only the training-ground, and not the field for the regular employment, of their mental powers.
1871 ‘M. Legrand’ Cambr. Freshman xi The features of this matchless racecourse and training-ground remain pretty much the same from generation to generation.
1903 L. S. Amery Probl. of Army ii. 47 The ground at Aldershot is big enough for the training of a few battalions; it is absurd as a training-ground for an army corps, or even a division.
1948 A. Toynbee Civilization on Trial 4 As a training-ground, the history of the Graeco-Roman world has its conspicuous merits.
1982 B. Emecheta Double Yoke (1984) vii. 71 The Theatre Arts department is a good training ground for those going into politics and the diplomatic service.
2003 D. Beckham & T. Watt Beckham (2004) ii. 26 The farmhouse was right next to the first team's training ground, in the shadow of the stadium itself.
2. Ground used or suitable for training. Also figurative.
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1761 W. Osmer Treat. Dis. & Lameness Horses (new ed.) 39 For all horses that are used on training ground, the iron should be very narrow, little wider than a plate.
1835 Farmer's Mag. July 7/1 In addition to access to the best blood in the kingdom, he possesses good training ground in his own park.
1864 E. Mayhew Illustr. Horse Managem. xiv. 525 Trotting..is all that is absolutely imperative; only, the exercise should continue longer than is at present usual on training ground.
1919 F. W. Halsey Lit. Digest Hist. World War III. viii. iii. 142 In a replica of the fort, erected on training-ground in the rear, they had fought the action time after time in anticipation of finally taking the fort.
1941 J. Berger In Great Waters (1980) iv. 42 But a land of democracy clearly was poor training ground for fo'mast hands in New Bedford's whaling fleet.
2005 S. Pankaj Call Centre i. 14 Call Centres are excellent training ground for the Olympic Call Centre Tug-o-War.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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