crawl

English

Etymology 1

(deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English (deprecated template usage) crawlen, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old Norse (deprecated template usage) krafla (compare Danish (deprecated template usage) kravle ‘to crawl, creep’, Swedish (deprecated template usage) kravla), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic Template:term/t (compare Dutch (deprecated template usage) krabbelen, Low German (deprecated template usage) krabbeln, Middle High German (deprecated template usage) krappeln), frequentative of (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic Template:term/t ‘to scratch, scrape’. More at crab.

Pronunciation

• enPR: krôl, , Template:X-SAMPA
• enPR: krôl, , Template:X-SAMPA
• enPR: kräl, , Template:X-SAMPA

Verb

crawl (third-person singular simple present crawls, present participle crawling, simple past and past participle crawled)

1. (deprecated template usage) (intransitive) To creep; to move slowly on hands and knees, or by dragging the body along the ground.
   • Grew

     A worm finds what it searches after only by feeling, as it crawls from one thing to another.

2. (deprecated template usage) (intransitive) To move forward slowly, with frequent stops.

3. (deprecated template usage) (intransitive) To act in a servile manner.
   • Shakespeare

     hath crawled into the favour of the king

4. (deprecated template usage) (intransitive, with "with") See crawl with.
5. (deprecated template usage) (intransitive) To feel a swarming sensation.

6. (deprecated template usage) (intransitive) To swim using the crawl stroke.

7. (deprecated template usage) (transitive) To move over an area on hands and knees.

8. (deprecated template usage) (intransitive) To visit while becoming inebriated.

9. (deprecated template usage) (transitive) To visit files or web sites in order to index them for searching.

Derived terms

• crawler

Translations

to move along the ground

• Arabic: زحف (zaḥafa), (imperfect:) يزحف (yazḥafu), دب (ar) (dábba)
• Armenian: սողալ (soġal)
• Azeri: iməkləmək
• Belarusian: поўзаць (póŭzacʹ) (abstract) , паўзці (paŭzcí) (concrete)
• Bulgarian: пълзя (bg) (pǎlzjà), лазя (bg) (lázja)
• Burmese: တွား (my) (twa:)
• Catalan: gatejar (ca), arrossegar-se
• Cebuano: kamang
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 爬 (zh) (pá), 匍 (zh) (pú), 爬行 (zh) (páxíng), 匍匐 (zh) (púfú), 蛇行 (zh) (shéxíng)

• Crimean Tatar: baqalamaq
• Czech: plazit se, lézt (cs)
• Danish: kravle, krybe
• Dutch: kruipen (nl)
• Esperanto: rampi
• Ewe: ta
• Faroese: grulva
• Finnish: kontata (fi), ryömiä (fi), madella (fi)
• French: ramper (fr)
• Georgian: ბობღვა (bobɣva), ცოცვა (cocva), ხოხვა (xoxva)
• German: kriechen (de), krabbeln (de)
• Greek: έρπω (el) (érpo)
• Hebrew: זחל (zakhál)
• Hindi: घिसटना (ghisaṭnā)
• Hungarian: kúszik (hu), mászik (hu)
• Icelandic: skríða
• Italian: strisciare (it)
• Japanese: 這う (はう, hau)
• Jèrriais:
• Khmer: លូន (km) (luun)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: 기어가다 (ko) (gieogada)
• Lao: ຄານ (lo) (khān)
• Latgalian: ruopuot
• Latvian: rāpot (lv)
• Macedonian: ползи (pólzi)
• Malay: rangkak
• Norwegian: krype (no)
• Persian: خزیدن (fa) (xazidan)
• Polish: pełzać (abstract) , pełznąć (pl) (concrete)
• Portuguese: engatinhar (pt) (on hands and knees), rastejar (pt) (dragging body along the ground)
• Romanian: se târî
• Russian: ползать (ru) (pólzatʹ) , поползать (ru) (popólzatʹ) Template:pf. (abstract); ползти (ru) (polztí) , поползти (ru) (popolztí) Template:pf. (concrete)
• Scottish Gaelic: snàig, èalaidh
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: пузати, пузити, плазити

  Roman: puzati, puziti, plaziti

• Slovak: plaziť sa
• Slovene: plaziti se
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: lězć (concrete), łazyś (abstract)

• Spanish: rampar (stealthily), gatear (es) (like a baby or toddler), arrastrarse, reptar (es)
• Swedish: krypa (sv), kräla (sv)
• Tajik: хазидан (xazidan)
• Telugu: పాకు (te) (pāku), దేకు (te) (dēku)
• Thai: คลาน (th) (klaan)
• Turkish: emeklemek (tr)
• Ukrainian: повзати (póvzaty) (abstract) , повзти (povztý) (concrete)
• Vietnamese: bò (vi), trườn (vi)
• West Frisian: krûpe

to move slowly

• Bulgarian: влача се (bg) (vlačá se)
• Czech: plazit se, lézt (cs)
• Finnish: madella (fi), ryömiä (fi)
• French: avancer au pas
• German: kriechen (de)
• Hebrew: הזדחל (hizdakhél)
• Hungarian: vánszorog (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: ползти (ru) (polztí)
• Scottish Gaelic: èalaidh
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: lězć (concrete), łazyś (abstract)

• Spanish: avanzar a paso de tortuga
• Telugu: దేకు (te) (dēku)

to act in a servile manner

• Bulgarian: угоднича (bg) (ugódniča)
• Czech: plazit se
• Finnish: kontata (fi), ryömiä (fi)
• French: s’aplatir devant, s’aplatir
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: лебезить (ru) (lebezítʹ), заискивать (ru) (zaískivatʹ), угодничать (ru) (ugódničatʹ)
• Spanish: humillarse, humillarse ante, arrastrarse (es)

to teem or swarm

• Bulgarian: гъмжа (bg) (gǎmža)
• Finnish: vilistä
• French: grouiller de, grouiller (fr)
• German: wimmeln (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: hemzseg (hu)
• Russian: кишеть (ru) (kišétʹ)
• Spanish: estar de cuajado, estar cuajado

to feel swarming sensation

• Finnish: saada (fi) kylmiä (fi) väreitä (fi)
• French: avoir la chair de poule (fr)
• German: krabbeln (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: мурашки по телу (muráški po télu) (expression, no verb exists)

to swim using crawl stroke

• Bulgarian: плувам кроул (plúvam króul)
• Finnish: kroolata (fi)
• French: faire le crawl
• German: kraulen
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: κάνω κρόουλ (káno króoul)
• Italian: nuotare a crawl
• Russian: плыть кролем (plytʹ królem)

to move over an area on hands and knees

• Bulgarian: пълзя (bg) (pǎlzjà)
• Finnish: kontata (fi) läpi (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: μπουσουλάω (el) (bousouláo)
• Scottish Gaelic: èalaidh

to visit while becoming inebriated

• Finnish: kontata (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

to index files or web sites in order to make them available for search

• Finnish: indeksoida
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• (deprecated template usage) Spanish: arrastrarse (es)

Noun

crawl (plural crawls)

1. The act of moving slowly on hands and knees etc, or with frequent stops
2. A rapid swimming stroke with alternate overarm strokes and a fluttering kick
3. (deprecated template usage) (television, film) A piece of horizontally scrolling text overlaid on the main image.
   • 22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Games[1]

     The opening crawl (and a stirring propaganda movie) informs us that “The Hunger Games” are an annual event in Panem, a North American nation divided into 12 different districts, each in service to the Capitol, a wealthy metropolis that owes its creature comforts to an oppressive dictatorship.

Derived terms

• front crawl
• pub crawl

• urban crawl

Translations

slow movement on hands and knees, or with frequent stops

• Bulgarian: пълзене n (pǎlzene)
• Finnish: konttaus, ryömintä( on hands and knees); matelu (fi) (with frequent stops)
• German: Schneckentempo (de) n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hebrew: זחילה (zkhila) Template:f - movement on knees and hands; הזדחלות (hizdakhlut) Template:f - slow movement with frequent stops
• Russian: ползание (ru) n (pólzanije)

swimming stroke

• Bulgarian: кроул m (króul)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 自由泳 (zh) (zìyóuyǒng)

• Danish: crawl c
• Faroese: krovl n
• Finnish: krooli (fi)
• German: Kraul n
• Greek: κρόουλ n (króoul)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Icelandic: skriðsund n
• Italian: crawl (it)
• Japanese: クロール (kurōru)
• Portuguese: crawl (pt) m
• Russian: кроль (ru) m (krolʹ)
• Slovak: kraul m
• Spanish: crol (es) m, estilo crol m
• Swedish: crawl (sv)

Etymology 2

Compare (deprecated template usage) kraal.

Noun

crawl (plural crawls)

1. A pen or enclosure of stakes and hurdles for holding fish.

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French

Noun

crawl m (plural crawls)

1. crawl (swimming stroke)

---

Italian

Noun

crawl m

1. crawl (swimming stroke)

---

Swedish

Noun

crawl c (uncountable)

1. crawl; swimming stroke

Declension

Declension of crawl
	Uncountable
	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	crawl	crawlen	—	—
Genitive	crawls	crawlens	—	—

Related terms

• crawla