From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Grovel \Grov"el\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Groveled}or {Grovelled};
p. pr. & vb. n. {Groveling} or {Grovelling}.] [From OE.
grovelinge, grufelinge, adv., on the face, prone, which was
misunderstood as a p. pr.; cf. OE. gruf, groff, in the same
sense; of Scand. origin, cf. Icel. gr[=u]fa, in [=a] gr[=u]fu
on the face, prone, gr[=u]fa to grovel.]
1. To creep on the earth, or with the face to the ground; to
lie prone, or move uneasily with the body prostrate on the
earth; to lie flat on one's belly, expressive of
abjectness; to crawl.
[1913 Webster]
To creep and grovel on the ground. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. To tend toward, or delight in, what is sensual or base; to
be low, abject, or mean.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
grovel
v 1: show submission or fear [syn: {fawn}, {crawl}, {creep},
{cringe}, {cower}, {grovel}]
From The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003) [jargon]:
grovel
vi.
1. To work interminably and without apparent progress. Often used
transitively with ?over? or ?through?. ?The file scavenger has been
groveling through the /usr directories for 10 minutes now.? Compare {grind}
and {crunch}. Emphatic form: grovel obscenely.
2. To examine minutely or in complete detail. ?The compiler grovels over
the entire source program before beginning to translate it.? ?I grovelled
through all the documentation, but I still couldn't find the command I
wanted.?
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