Dear Word Detective: Recently, my new hubby and I were discussing what to tile the patio with, and he kept calling it “the floor.” Ever since childhood I have thought that “floor” is for inside, but “ground” is for either. Is either of these right? — Megan.
Well, this just bolsters my theory that home improvement, especially the “DIY” kind (“DIY” standing for “done in years” in most cases), is a leading cause of marital discord today. Just swing by Home Depot or Lowe’s some Saturday afternoon and take a good look at the couples picking out bathroom tiles or window blinds. Do those people look happy with each other? No wonder “home” and “homicide” both begin with “hom.” In fact, your first sentence could pass muster as a classic New Yorker cartoon caption.
I’m not certain I’m the right person to answer your question, since my standard reply to “What’s it like outside?” is “The ceiling is blue and very far away,” but I’ll take a shot.
The use of “ground” outside and “floor” inside is purely a convention, albeit one so old it is nearly universally observed. The only use of “ground” inside a house I can imagine is, perhaps, when the SWAT team kicks in your door shouting, “Get on the ground!”
“Floor” and “ground” are both, as you might suspect, very old words. “Ground” is one of a family of words in various Germanic languages (of which English is one) derived from an ancient Germanic root with the general sense of “very deep place” or “abyss.” When “ground” first appeared in Old English, it meant “bottom, lowest point,” especially the bottom of of the ocean (a sense still found in the phrase “run aground” when the water turns out to be a bit too shallow). “Ground” went on to develop a great varieties of meanings, most focusing on the idea of “foundation” or “surface of the earth,” although we still use the archaic definition “sediment settled from liquid” when we speak of “coffee grounds.” (Surprisingly, calling these “grounds” has nothing to do with the coffee having been put through a grinder. Before filters and similar froo-froo, the coffee was simply stirred and allowed to settle in the bottom of the cup.). But apart from metaphorical uses (e.g., to “stand your ground” in an argument, or “to ground” a fractious child), almost all uses of “ground” in the general “surface” sense take place outdoors.
“Floor” also first appeared in Old English and is based on a Germanic root, in this case carrying the general meaning of “flatness.” Throughout its history in English, “floor” has pretty much been confined to meaning “the level surface underlying the interior of a room” or metaphors invoking that image (as in “floor of the mouth” or “ocean floor”). So “floor” isn’t quite right for a patio, unless it is perhaps somewhat enclosed. If all else fails, I’d just refer to “the surface” of the patio.
Deck?