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Cower vs Skulk - What's the difference?

cower | skulk |

As verbs the difference between cower and skulk

is that cower is to crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear or cower can be (obsolete|transitive) to cherish with care while skulk is to conceal oneself; to hide.

As a noun skulk is

a group of foxes.

cower

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) kuren or from Scandinavian ((etyl) . Unrelated to coward, which is of Latin origin.

Verb

(en verb)
  • To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear.
    • He'd be useless in war. He'd just cower in his bunker until the enemy came in and shot him, or until the war was over.
  • * Dryden
    • Our dame sits cowering o'er a kitchen fire.
  • * Goldsmith
    • Like falcons, cowering on the nest.
    See also
    * coward * cowardice

    Etymology 2

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To cherish with care.
    • (Webster 1913)

    skulk

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A group of foxes.
    • (Wright)
  • One who skulks; a skulker.

    • Verb

    (en verb)
  • to conceal oneself; to hide
  • * Dryden
    • Discovered and defeated of your prey, / You skulked behind the fence, and sneaked away.
  • * 1852 , Charles Dickens, Bleak House ,
    • Behind dingy blind and curtain, in upper story and garret, skulking more or less under false names, false hair, false titles, false jewellery, and false histories, a colony of brigands lie in their first sleep.
  • to sneak around, sneak about
  • * 1904 , Paul Laurence Dunbar,
    • Fully a dozen of the citizens had seen him hastening toward the woods and noted his skulking air [...]
  • to shirk; to avoid obligation