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stoop

Pronunciation: /stuːp/

The English word “stoop” has 13 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A stooping, bent position of the body.
  2. An accelerated descent in flight, as that for an attack.
  3. A vessel for holding liquids; like a flagon but without the spout.
  4. The staircase and landing or porch leading to the entrance of a residence.
  5. The threshold of a doorway; a doorstep.
  6. A post or pillar, especially a gatepost or a support in a mine.

verb

  1. To bend the upper part of the body forward and downward to a half-squatting position; crouch.
  2. To lower oneself; to demean oneself in doing something below one's status, standards, or morals.
  3. Of a bird of prey: to swoop down on its prey.
  4. To cause to incline downward; to slant.
  5. To cause to submit; to prostrate.
  6. To yield; to submit; to bend, as by compulsion; to assume a position of humility or subjection.
  7. To descend from rank or dignity; to condescend.

Etymology

From Middle English stoupen, from Old English stūpian (“to bow, bend”), from Proto-West Germanic *stūpōn, from Proto-Germanic *stūpōną, *stūpijaną (“to stand out”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewb- (“to push, butt, knock”). Compare steep. Cognate with Dutch stuipen (“to bend the upper part of the body forward and downward”), Old Norse stúpa (“to stoop”). Related also to Old Frisian stēpa (“to…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.