lurk

Meaning

Verb

1. To remain concealed in order to ambush.
2. To remain unobserved.
3. To hang out or wait around a location, preferably without drawing attention to oneself.
4. (Internet) To read an Internet forum without posting comments or making one's presence apparent.
5. (UK, slang, transitive) To saddle (a person) with an undesirable task or duty.

Noun

1. The act of lurking.
2. (Australia, UK, obsolete, slang) A swindle.

Synonyms

hide

skulk

lie in wait

ambush

prowl

crouch

waylay

sneak

ambuscade

lie low

bushwhack

lie in ambush

mill about

creep

disappear

footle

hang around

lie dormant

linger

loaf

loiter

lollygag

lounge

mess about

rove

scupper

slink

spy

steal

tarry

lallygag

mill around

abscond

be latent

haunt

hover in the background

conceal

snoop

remain quiet

stalk

watch closely

be hidden/concealed

watch

⌚

watch for

inspect

investigate

kennel

camouflage

hide out

be hiding

Translations

lauern

se blottir

espreitar

acechar

appostarsi

stare in agguato

guatare

ενέδρα

κρύβομαι

auflauern

comploter

se cacher

celarsi

se tapir

estar amagat

Pronounced as (IPA)

/lɜːk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: lurken

Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk: lurka

Cognate with Swedish: lurka

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: lüürkje

Cognate with Western Frisian: luorkje

Cognate with Middle Low German: lûrken

In summary

From Middle English lurken, from Old Norse *lúrka, possibly from Proto-Germanic *lūrukōną (“to be lying in wait, lurk”), equivalent to lour + -k (frequentative suffix).
Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk lurka (“to sneak away, go slowly”), dialectal Swedish lurka (“to dawdle, be slow in one's work”), Saterland Frisian lüürkje (“to look secretly, spy”), West Frisian luorkje (“to lurk”), Middle Low German lûrken (“to deceitfully stalk”).