Grovel

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Grovel \Grov"el\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Groveled}or {Grovelled};
     p. pr. & vb. n. {Groveling} or {Grovelling}.] [From OE.
     grovelinge, grufelinge, adv., on the face, prone, which was
     misunderstood as a p. pr.; cf. OE. gruf, groff, in the same
     sense; of Scand. origin, cf. Icel. gr[=u]fa, in [=a] gr[=u]fu
     on the face, prone, gr[=u]fa to grovel.]


     1. To creep on the earth, or with the face to the ground; to
        lie prone, or move uneasily with the body prostrate on the
        earth; to lie flat on one's belly, expressive of
        abjectness; to crawl.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              To creep and grovel on the ground.    --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To tend toward, or delight in, what is sensual or base; to
        be low, abject, or mean.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  grovel
       v : show submission or fear [syn: {fawn}, {crawl}, {creep}, {cringe},
            {cower}]
       [also: {grovelling}, {grovelled}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  94 Moby Thesaurus words for "grovel":
     apple-polish, be promiscuous, bend, bend the knee, bend the neck,
     bend to, bootlick, bow, bow and scrape, bow down, bow to,
     chase women, commit adultery, couch, cower, crawl, creep, cringe,
     cringe to, crouch, crouch before, curtsy, debauch, dissipate,
     do homage, do obeisance, fawn, flatter, flounder, fornicate,
     genuflect, get down, go on tiptoe, gumshoe, hug the earth, hunch,
     hunch down, inch, inch along, kneel, kneel to, knuckle to, kowtow,
     lay, lick the dust, lickspittle, lie, lie down, lie flat,
     lie limply, lie low, lie prone, lie prostrate, lie under, loll,
     lounge, nightwalk, pad, philander, prowl, pussyfoot, rake, recline,
     repose, roll, scrabble, scramble, scrouch down, sidle,
     sleep around, slink, snake, sneak, sprawl, squat, steal,
     steal along, stoop, swing, tippytoe, tiptoe, toadeat, toady,
     truckle, truckle to, tumble, underlie, wallow, wanton, welter,
     whore, womanize, worm, worm along
  
  

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  grovel vi. 1. To work interminably and without apparent progress. Often
     used transitively with `over' or `through'. "The file scavenger has been
     groveling through the /usr directories for 10 minutes now." Compare
     {grind} and {crunch}. Emphatic form: `grovel obscenely'. 2. To examine
     minutely or in complete detail. "The compiler grovels over the entire
     source program before beginning to translate it." "I grovelled through
     all the documentation, but I still couldn't find the command I wanted."
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  grovel
       
          1. To work interminably and without apparent progress.  Often
          used transitively with "over" or "through".  "The file
          scavenger has been groveling through the /usr directories for
          10 minutes now."  Compare {grind} and {crunch}.  Emphatic
          form: "grovel obscenely".
       
          2. To examine minutely or in complete detail.  "The compiler
          grovels over the entire source program before beginning to
          translate it."  "I grovelled through all the documentation,
          but I still couldn't find the command I wanted."
       
          [{Jargon File}]