ˈkau̇ə(r) verb
( cowered ; cowered ; cowering -au̇(ə)riŋ ; cowers )
Etymology: Middle English couren, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian kura to cower, Old Swedish kūra to sit still, Danish kure to sit or lie still; akin to Middle High German & Middle Low German kūren to lie in wait, lurk, Old Norse kārr curly hair, Greek gyros round, Middle Irish gūaire hair, Lithuanian gauras body hair, and perhaps to Old Norse kot small hut — more at cot
intransitive verb
1. now dialect England : to crouch down : squat
2. : to shrink away or cringe usually in abject fear of something menacing or domineering and sometimes from cold
they all cowered silently in their places, seeming to know in advance that some terrible thing was about to happen — George Orwell
cowering in their huts like so many rabbits in their burrows, listening in fear — Charles Kingsley
transitive verb
chiefly Scotland : to bend down