the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
verb-intransitive. To stoop by bending the knees; to crouch; to squat; hence, to quail; to sink through fear.
v. To cherish with care.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
To sink by bending the knees; crouch: squat: stoop or sink downward, especially in fear or shame.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
v. show submission or fear
v. crouch or curl up
Word Usage
"Its meaning in that context is "To draw back instinctively, as from something alarming" but because of the other meanings, there's also a feel or image of a person making himself smaller in fear, which gets us back to "cower" or "cringe.""