grovel
[gruhv-uh l, grov-]
- to humble oneself or act in an abject manner, as in great fear or utter servility.
- to lie or crawl with the face downward and the body prostrate, especially in abject humility, fear, etc.
- to take pleasure in mean or base things.
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Origin of grovel
1585–95; back formation from obsolete groveling (adv.), equivalent to obsolete grufe face down (< Old Norse ā grūfu face down) + -ling2, taken to be present participle
Synonyms
See more synonyms for grovel on Thesaurus.com1. truckle, toady, fawn, kowtow, pander.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for groveling
Contemporary Examples
Whatever happened to the groveling apology and the second chance . . . the kind of forgiving spirit that made America great?
North Dakota Television Station Fires Brand-New Anchor Over Accidental On-Air ProfanityMegan McArdle
April 22, 2013
A mortified Phillips, from Belfast, wrote a groveling apology in response.
A consummate Wall Street creature, the pathetic, groveling Paulson knew what would happen without a bailout.
The sort of groveling one imagines taking place is repulsive to consider.
Historical Examples
He grabbed the groveling butcher and hoisted him from his wallow.
Louisiana LouWilliam West Winter
How groveling must be the ignorance which can be thus blinded!
Aztec LandMaturin M. Ballou
They had not the low and groveling spirit which usually incites mobs.
If in that moment she appeared a groveling thing, it was only for a moment.
The Blue WallRichard Washburn Child
At every step she had to purchase silence by groveling humility.
Germinie LacerteuxEdmond and Jules de Goncourt
grovel
- to humble or abase oneself, as in making apologies or showing respect
- to lie or crawl face downwards, as in fear or humility
- (often foll by in) to indulge or take pleasure (in sensuality or vice)
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Word Origin
C16: back formation from obsolete groveling (adv), from Middle English on grufe on the face, of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse ā grūfu, from grūfa prone position; see -ling ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for groveling
grovel
v.
1590s, Shakespearian back-formation of groveling (Middle English), regarded as a present participle but really an adverb, from Old Norse grufe "prone" + obsolete adverbial suffix -ling (which survives also as the -long in headlong, sidelong); first element from Old Norse a grufu "on proneness." Perhaps related to creep. Related: Groveled; grovelled; groveling; grovelling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper