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grovel

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grovel

 

  4  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Grovel  \Grov"el\,  v.  i.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Groveled}or  {Grovelled}; 
  p.  pr  &  vb  n.  {Groveling}  or  {Grovelling}.]  [From  OE 
  grovelinge,  grufelinge  adv.,  on  the  face,  prone,  which  was 
  misunderstood  as  a  p.  pr.;  cf  OE  gruf,  groff,  in  the  same 
  sense  of  Scand.  origin,  cf  Icel.  gr[=u]fa,  in  [=a]  gr[=u]fu 
  on  the  face,  prone,  gr[=u]fa  to  grovel.] 
  1.  To  creep  on  the  earth,  or  with  the  face  to  the  ground;  to 
  lie  prone,  or  move  uneasily  with  the  body  prostrate  on  the 
  earth;  to  lie  fiat  on  one's  belly,  expressive  of 
  abjectness;  to  crawl. 
 
  To  creep  and  grovel  on  the  ground.  --Dryden. 
 
  2.  To  tend  toward,  or  delight  in  what  is  sensual  or  base;  to 
  be  low  abject,  or  mean 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  grovel 
  v  :  show  submission  or  fear  [syn:  {fawn},  {crawl},  {creep},  {cringe}, 
  {cower}] 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  2000)  [jargon]: 
 
  grovel  vi  1.  To  work  interminably  and  without  apparent 
  progress.  Often  used  transitively  with  `over'  or  `through'.  "The  file 
  scavenger  has  been  groveling  through  the  /usr  directories  for  10  minutes 
  now."  Compare  {grind}  and  {crunch}.  Emphatic  form:  `grovel  obscenely'. 
  2.  To  examine  minutely  or  in  complete  detail.  "The  compiler  grovels 
  over  the  entire  source  program  before  beginning  to  translate  it." 
  "I  grovelled  through  all  the  documentation,  but  I  still  couldn't  find 
  the  command  I  wanted." 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  grovel 
 
  1.  To  work  interminably  and  without  apparent  progress.  Often 
  used  transitively  with  over"  or  "through".  "The  file 
  scavenger  has  been  groveling  through  the  /usr  directories  for 
  10  minutes  now."  Compare  {grind}  and  {crunch}.  Emphatic 
  form:  "grovel  obscenely". 
 
  2.  To  examine  minutely  or  in  complete  detail.  "The  compiler 
  grovels  over  the  entire  source  program  before  beginning  to 
  translate  it."  "I  grovelled  through  all  the  documentation, 
  but  I  still  couldn't  find  the  command  I  wanted." 
 
  [{Jargon  File}]




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