cower
verb1
Obsolete To cherish with care.
cower
verbUS /ˈkaʊɚ/ · UK /ˈkaʊə/
Etymology From Middle English couren, cowre, from Middle Low German kûren (“to lie in wait; linger”) or from North Germanic (Icelandic kúra (“to doze”)); according to Pokorny, all are ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to curve, bend”), see also Proto-Germanic *kuddô (“shell, pod”). Cognate with German kauern (“to squat”), Dutch koeren (“to keep watch (in a cowered position)”), Serbo-Croatian kutriti (“to lie in a bent position”), Swedish kura (“huddle, cower”). Unrelated to coward, which is of Latin origin.
1
To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear.
- He'd be useless in war. He'd just cower in his bunker until the enemy came in and shot him, or until the war was over.
- Our dame sits cowering o'er a kitchen fire.1700, John Dryden, "The Cock and the Fox", in Fables, Ancient and Modern, published March 1700
1 more example
- Carrot ran past him to get to the barrel first, and peered down at the cowering Catweazle. “No rats, Dad,” he said. “What's that terrible pong, then?” said Mr Bennett, sniffing.1970, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 21:
2
Archaic To crouch in general.
- Some sterner virtues o’er the mountain’s breast May sit, like falcons, cowering on the nest1764, Oliver Goldsmith, The Traveller:
- The mother bird had mov’d not, But cowering o’er her nestlings, Sate confident and fearless, And watch’d the wonted guest.1801, Robert Southey, “(please specify the page)”, in Thalaba the Destroyer, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] [F]or T[homas] N[orton] Longman and O[wen] Rees, […], by Biggs and Cottle, […], →OCLC:
3
To cause to cower; to frighten into submission.
- This done, their doubts will vanish, and they will stand confronted by an object lesson which must have the effect either to arouse them to a determination to banish despotism from the land, or cower them into submission and servitude.1895, Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor and Industry of Kansas:
- My spirit will cower them and make them wish they had never risen up against me.2007, DJ Birmingham, The Queen's Tale: The Struggle for the Survival of Ireland, page 170:
1 more example
- A vicious Mafia threat intended to cower him—but the chief doesn't cower.2010, Marilyn Brown Oden, The Dead Saint:
4
Figuratively To be a coward; to hide away or refuse to face opposition due to fear.
- Derived terms
- cowerer, coweringly, uncowering