Results for: groveling

groveling

groveling


grov·el  (grvl, grv-)
intr.v. grov·eled also grov·elled, grov·el·ing also grov·el·ling, grov·els also grov·els
1. To behave in a servile or demeaning manner; cringe.
2. To lie or creep in a prostrate position, as in subservience or humility.
3. To give oneself over to base pleasures: Have we not groveled here long enough, eating and drinking like mere brutes? (Walt Whitman).

[Back-formation from obsolete groveling, prone, face downward, from Middle English : (on) grufe, face downwards (from Old Norse grfu, from grfa, to grovel) + -ling, adv. suff.; see -ling2.]

grovel·er n.
groveling

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