All 3 Uses of
cower
in
The Odyssey
- She'll cower in fear and coax you to her bed—
but don't refuse the goddess' bed, not then, not if
she's to release your friends and treat you well yourself.†p. 239.8
- Six whole days we sailed, six nights, nonstop
and then, when the god brought on the seventh day,
Artemis showering arrows came and shot the woman—
headfirst into the bilge she splashed like a diving tern
and the crewmen heaved her body over, a nice treat
for the seals and fish, but left me all alone,
cowering, sick at heart ...
Until, at last,
the wind and current bore us on to Ithaca,
here where Laertes bought me with his wealth.†p. 334.8 *cowering = showing fear by positioning the body as though afraid of being hit
- The herald pricked up his anxious ears at that ...
cautious soul, he cowered, trembling, under a chair—
wrapped in an oxhide freshly stripped—to dodge black death.†p. 450.7cowered = showed fear by positioning the body as though afraid of being hit
Definitions:
-
(1)
(cower) show fear by positioning the body as though afraid of being hit
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
In classic literature, cower may also mean to crouch or curl up without any hint of fear.