Third-person singular present tense of cower; to crouch down in fear or hide away from something threatening.
From Middle Low German 'kūren' meaning to lurk or crouch. The word entered English around the 14th century and has maintained its core meaning of shrinking back physically from fear or threat.
Animals and humans share the cowering response—it's one of our oldest survival instincts—and English borrowed this word from Germanic languages that shared the same physical gesture of fear across cultures.
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