crouch

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to sit on one's heels

   I crouched low in the grass so as not to disturb the wildlife.

2. 2
   verb

   to bend one's back forward from the waist on down

   I crouched to pick up the ball on the ground.

From Middle English crouchen (“to bend, crouch”), variant of croken (“to bend, crook”), from crok (“crook, hook”), from Old Norse krókr (“hook”), from Proto-Germanic *krōkaz (“hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerg- (“wicker, bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to turn, wind, weave”). Compare Middle Dutch krōken (“to crook, curl”). More at crook.

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