grovel
/ˈɡrɒvəl/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.28 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "In the tube station, the old ones who were on the way out / Would dribble and vomit and grovel and shout"
- "She refused to grovel in front of the bully, standing her ground."
- "He had to grovel before his boss after missing the important meeting."
- "He hated to grovel, but he knew it was the only way to save his job."
Etymology
From Middle English *grovelen, from Old Norse grufla, grœfla (“to grovel”), from Proto-Germanic *grubilōną (“to dig, delve into”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ‑ (“to dig, scrape, scrabble, scratch”); akin to Old Norse á grufu (“on one's belly”) ( > Old Norse grúfa (“to lie face down, grovel”)). Cognate with Scots grovel, gruvil (“to grovel”), German grübeln (“to meditate, ponder”), Norwegian Nynorsk gruvla (“to grovel”). Compare also West Frisian groebeltsje (“to make a mess, skip school, skive”), Dutch grobbelen (“to grope, root, grub”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *grovelen, grufla, *grubilōną, *gʰrebʰ‑