Word: creep Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English crepen, from Old English crēopan (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-West Germanic *kreupan, from Proto-Germanic *kreupaną (“to twist, creep”), from Proto-Indo-European *grewbʰ- (“to turn, wind”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian krûpe (“to creep, crawl”), Central Franconian kruffe (“to creep, crawl”), Dutch kruipen (“to creep, crawl”), Low German krepen, krupen (“to creep, crawl”), Danish krybe (“to creep”), Faroese krúpa (“to creep”), Icelandic krjúpa (“to kneel down, to genuflect, to get down on one's knees”), Norwegian Bokmål krype (“to creep”), Norwegian Nynorsk krjupa, krjupe, krypa, krype (“to creep, crawl”), Swedish krypa (“to creep, crawl”). The noun is derived from the verb. Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *grewbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *kreupaną Proto-West Germanic *kreupan Old English crēopan Middle English crepen English creep Pronunciation: /kɹiːp/, [kʰɹiːp] 1. The movement of something that creeps (like worms or snails). Labels: countable, uncountable 2. A relatively small gradual change, variation or deviation (from a planned value) in a measure. Labels: countable, uncountable 3. A slight displacement of an object; the slight movement of something. Labels: countable, uncountable 4. The gradual expansion or proliferation of something beyond its original goals or boundaries, considered negatively. Labels: uncountable Example: Christmas creep Example: feature creep 5. In sewn books, the tendency of pages on the inside of a quire to stand out farther than those on the outside of it. Labels: countable, uncountable 6. An increase in strain with time; the gradual flow or deformation of a material under stress. Labels: countable, uncountable 7. The imperceptible downslope movement of surface rock. Labels: countable, uncountable 8. Someone creepy (annoyingly unpleasant), especially one who is strange or eccentric. Labels: countable, derogatory, informal, uncountable Example: "You mentioned some others," I said. "More creeps," she told me. '"That guy was plain looking for trouble. You know, he starts hanging out with some of the shooters Whitey Tass keeps around, angling for an introduction to the big man himself, and he's damn lucky he got picked up by the fuzz before Whitey got sore. He runs too big an operation in the city to be bugged by a pig like Yard. One day Lou Steubal tried to get an inside track with Whitey, levering him on account of what Whitey did to his sister, and they found Lou in the drink. It looked like Lou got gassed up and fell in, but don't try to tell me that. Whitey had him tapped out." Example: But I'm a creep / I'm a weirdo / What the hell am I doing here? / I don't belong here 9. A person who engages in sexually inappropriate behaviour or sexual harassment. Labels: countable, derogatory, especially, informal, uncountable Example: It was whispered that the priest was a pervert. Was he? The girls said he was a creep. I didn't quite know what it meant to be a creep, but it was obviously not a good thing. It was said that he sometimes fondled the girls, their breasts, and said lousy things to them, that they were beautiful or something like that.[…]Disgusting guys. I thought the guy at Bústaðir was a creep. An old man who liked to dance. Example: Saiera shuddered through an exaggerated shiver. "He's a creep. He was a creep in high school, and he's been a creep ever since. Look..." She flipped to the index, found what she was looking for, and fanned the pages until she reached the one she wanted. "Here he is. A young Andy Gluck, chubby as a penguin, stared out of the page from behind round wire-frame glasses. A camera hung from a strap around his neck. […] "He doesn't look creepy," I said. "Kind of nerdy, in a harmless way. "Looks can be deceiving. See that camera? He was always going around with that camera, snapping pictures. Some girls caught him trying to get 'up skirt' shots while they sat at their desks.[…]" 10. A barrier with small openings used to keep large animals out while allowing smaller animals to pass through. Labels: countable, uncountable