lurk
Meaning
-
- To remain concealed in order to ambush.
- To remain unobserved.
- To hang out or wait around a location, preferably without drawing attention to oneself.
- To read an Internet forum without posting comments or making one's presence apparent.
- (slang) To saddle (a person) with an undesirable task or duty.
Synonyms
lie in ambush
lie dormant
be latent
hover in the background
remain quiet
watch closely
be hidden/concealed
watch for
be hiding
be on the look-out for
be lurking
be hidden
be concealed
Frequency
Pronounced as (IPA)
/lɜːk/
Etymology
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”).
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