An archaic or dialectal term meaning to crouch, bend low, or huddle down in a submissive or fearful posture.
From Old French 'crochier' (to bend or curl), related to 'crook'; archaic English variant that eventually evolved into the modern 'crouch.'
The word crouche appears in Middle English texts where people 'crouche' before kings—it's literally the same root that gave us 'crotchety,' because a crouched person looks bent and twisted like a crotchet hook.
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