Cowering
/ˈkaʊ.ər.ɪŋ/noun
Shrinking back in fear or submissiveness.
Did you know?“Cower” likely grew out of a Scandinavian word meaning to crouch or stoop, tying fear to a body posture long before modern psychology named it.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*kūr- / *kūrō-
“to crouch, stoop, or bend down”
Old Norse
ON
kūra
“to lie huddled or crouched; to doze, lurk”
Middle English
ME
couren
“to crouch, cower, or bow down”
15th Century
English
coweren
“to crouch in fear or submissiveness”
Modern English
English
cower
“to shrink back or huddle down in fear”