cower

A person cowering on Coventry Street, London

Meaning

Verb

To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear.
To crouch in general.
To cause to cower; to frighten into submission.
To cherish with care.

Origin

From Middle English cowre, couren, curen, from Middle Low German kûren or from North Germanic (Icelandic kúra ("to doze")). Cognate with German kauern, Dutch koeren ("to keep watch (in a cowered position)"), Serbo-Croatian kutriti. Unrelated to coward, which is of Latin origin.

Modern English dictionary

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