cower
/ˈkaʊɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.55 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "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."
- "Some sterner virtues o’er the mountain’s breast May sit, like falcons, cowering on the nest"
- "The mother bird had mov’d not, But cowering o’er her nestlings, Sate confident and fearless, And watch’d the wonted guest."
- "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."
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: couren, kûren, -, *gew-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkaʊɚ/
- British English: /ˈkaʊə/