verb · intransitive · rare

grovel

grovel · grovels · groveled / grovelled · groveling

пресмыкаться, лежать ниц, ползать, унижаться

kriechen, katzbuckeln, auf dem Bauch rutschen, schleimen

To be prone on the groundTo be prone on the ground.

/ˈɡrɒvəl/

» He had to send them a grovelling letter.

Він був змушений надіслати їм підлабузницького листа.

Meaning

5 senses

(intransitive)To be prone on the ground.
лежа́ть ницležátʹ nic
(intransitive)To crawl.
kriechen
по́лзатьpólzatʹ
(intransitive)To abase oneself before another person.
She refused to grovel in front of the bully, standing her ground.
kriechen, katzbuckeln, auf dem Bauch rutschen
унижа́тьсяunižátʹsja, пресмыка́тьсяpresmykátʹsja
(intransitive)To be slavishly nice to someone or apologize in the hope of securing something.
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.
kriechen, schleimen
пресмыка́тьсяpresmykátʹsja
(intransitive)To take pleasure in mundane activities.

More definitions

show submission or fear

Examples

2 sentences

He had to send them a grovelling letter.
Він був змушений надіслати їм підлабузницького листа.
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Men grovel at her feet.
Чоловіки повзають біля її ніг.
ruМужчины ползают у её ног.
deDie Männer liegen ihr zu Füßen.
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Translations

6 languages

Русский

By meaning 3

to be prone on the ground:

to crawl:

to abase oneself:

Deutsch

By meaning 3

to crawl:

to abase oneself:

to be slavishly nice in the hope of securing something:

Origin

From Middle English *grovelen, from Old Norse grufla, grœfla (“to grovel”), from Proto-Ger

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”).

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