crawling
UK[ˈkrɔːlɪŋ]US[ˈkrɑːlɪŋ]
v
moving forward on the hands and knees or by dragging the body close to the ground
v
(of an insect or small animal) moving slowly with the body close to the ground
v
(of a vehicle) moving slowly at an unsatisfactory speed
v
(of a surface or object) being covered or filled with insects, people, or things, typically to an unwanted extent
adj
(informal) feeling an unpleasant sensation as of insects moving over the skin
Morpheme Breakdown
crawl
ing
crawl
to move slowly
ing
present participle/gerund suffix
Etymology
the word 'crawling' is built upon the verb 'crawl', which entered english from old norse, likely from a root imitative of slow, dragging movement. the addition of the '-ing' suffix, a prolific germanic grammatical element, transforms the action into its continuous form, describing the process itself. this construction is highly productive in english, allowing any verb to denote ongoing activity. the semantic core has expanded from describing the slow, prone locomotion of creatures to metaphorically cover slow vehicular movement and the unsettling sensation of things moving over skin, retaining the fundamental concept of slow, creeping progression.
Analysis
Structure: crawl (to move slowly) + ing (present participle/gerund suffix)
- crawl: from middle english 'crawlen', of scandinavian origin; related to swedish 'kravla' and danish 'kravle'. it functions as the verbal root meaning to move slowly on the belly or hands and knees.
- ing: from old english '-ende' (present participle) and '-ung' (verbal noun suffix), of germanic origin. it functions as a suffix forming the present participle or gerund, indicating an ongoing action or state.
Examples
the baby was crawling across the living room floor.
the traffic was crawling along the highway during rush hour.
after reading the horror story, she felt her skin crawling.