Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Crawl

Crawl (kral) , intransitive verb

[Danish kravle, or Icelandic krafla, to paw, scrabble with the hands; akin to Swedish krala to crawl; compare LG. krabbeln, Dutch krabbelen to scratch.]

1.
To move slowly by drawing the body along the ground, as a worm; to move slowly on hands and knees; to creep.
A worm finds what it searches after only by feeling, as it crawls from one thing to another. — Grew
2.
to move or advance in a feeble, slow, or timorous manner.
He was hardly able to crawl about the room. — Arbuthnot
The meanest thing that crawl'd beneath my eyes. — Byron
3.
To advance slowly and furtively; to insinuate one's self; to advance or gain influence by servile or obsequious conduct.
Secretly crawling up the battered walls. — Knolles
Hath crawled into the favor of the king. — Shakespeare
Absurd opinions crawl about the world. — South
4.
To have a sensation as of insect creeping over the body; as, the flesh crawls. See Creep, v. i., 7.

Crawl (kr?l) , noun

The act or motion of crawling; slow motion, as of a creeping animal.

Crawl , noun

[Compare Kraal.]

A pen or inclosure of stakes and hurdles on the seacoast, for holding fish.