grovel
/ˈgrɒvəl/verb
(grovelled, grovelling; <美> groveled, groveling) no obj.
1- lie or move abjectly on the ground with one's face downwards匍匐, 趴; 匍匐前进, 爬行：
he grovelled in agony as the driver lashed him repeatedly.
工头不停地用鞭子抽打他, 他痛苦地向前爬行。
1.1
- act in an obsequious manner in order to obtain someone's forgiveness or favour奴颜婢膝, 卑躬屈膝：
everyone expected me to grovel with gratitude
所有人都认为我会因感激而卑躬屈膝
as adj. grovelling his grovelling references to 'great' historians and their 'brilliant' works.他谈及“伟大的”历史学家以及他们“卓越的”作品时那种佩服得五体投地的态度。
派生词
groveller
noungrovellingly
adverb词源
Middle English: back-formation from the obsolete adverb grovelling, from obsolete groof, grufe 'the face or front' （in the phrase on grufe, from Old Norse á grúfu 'face downwards'） + the suffix -ling.