SQUINCH

I. verb Etymology: probably blend of squint and pinch Date: 1835 transitive verb to screw up (the eyes or face) ; squint , 2. to make more compact, to cause to crouch down or draw together, intransitive verb flinch , to crouch down or draw together, squint , II. noun Etymology: alteration of earlier scunch back part of the side of an opening Date: circa 1840 a support (as an arch, lintel, or corbeling) carried across the corner of a room under a superimposed mass