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Today it means

crawl

to move slowly with the body close to the ground, using hands and knees

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Where does the word "crawl" come from? It comes from Old Norse krafla, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).

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Where does the word "crawl" come from? It comes from Old Norse krafla, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).

Crawl’s story begins in Old Norse: krafla meant “to claw, to move slowly.” The swimming 'crawl' dates from around 1900. It reached English by 1200s as crawl. Settled as the standard English word for moving slowly on all fours. Today, crawl means to move slowly with the body close to the ground, using hands and knees.

  1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval krafla "to claw, to move slowly", the swimming 'crawl' dates from around 1900.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1200s crawl "to move slowly with the body close to the ground", settled as the standard English word for moving slowly on all fours.

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