creep English · revision 15446

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 899}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɹiːp/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|crepen]], [[inh|ang|crēopan|t=to move with the body close to the ground]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) from [[gem-pro|*kreupaną]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with [[ofs|kriāpa]], [[dum|crūpen]] (modern [[m|nl|kruipen]]) and [[non|krjúpa]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) perhaps from a PIE root meaning crooked.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[cripple]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ About 899, in Alfred's translation of Boethius, in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To move secretly or slowly, feebly or timidly, is from about 1300,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and of plants growing along the ground or a wall from the 16th century.^(Hoad 1986) Weak past forms such as ''crept'' are found from about 1300.^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 1989) The noun, a creeping motion, is from 1818;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) the slow imperceptible movement of coal in mines is by 1813, and of soil in geology by 1889.^(Etymonline) A despicable person is American slang by 1886,^(Etymonline) and ''the creeps'', a feeling of dread, is first in Dickens in 1849.^(Etymonline) Mission creep, the gradual extension of a mission, is American military jargon from 1994.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 899 – crēopan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – to move stealthily.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1818 – a creep (noun).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1849 – the creeps.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1886 – a despicable person.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To move slowly and quietly, especially to avoid being noticed.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To move with the body close to the ground; to [[crawl]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of a plant, to grow along the ground or up a surface.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To increase or spread gradually.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(informal)'' An unpleasant or repulsive person.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The creeps: a feeling of fear or revulsion.^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The slow deformation of a metal or other material under stress.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[creepingly]]

+ * [[noncreeping]]

+ * [[creepage]]

+ * [[creeper]]

+ * [[creepy]]

+ * [[creepy-crawly]]

+ * [[outcreep]]

+ * [[creeping Charlie]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cripple]]

+ * [[crawl]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ On the coasts of Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, Kent, Sussex and Dorset, to creep was to drag for tubs of spirits sunk in the sea by smugglers.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}