Crouch1, v. i.
v. i. [imp. & p. p. CROUCHED (kroucht); p. pr. & vb. n. CROUCHING.] [O. & Prov. Eng. crouch, from crook, to bend.]
Sense 1. To bend down; to stoop low; to lie close to the ground, as an animal.
Close by the dove its head it crouched, And with the dove it heaves and stirs, Swelling its neck as she swells hers. Coleridge.
Sense 2. To bend servilely; to stoop meanly; to fawn; to cringe. “A crouching purpose, . . . a distracted will.” Wordsworth.
Must I stand and crouch Under your testy humor? Shak.