The word for today is…

truckle (verb) – To be servile or submissive.

Source : The Free Dictionary

Etymology : When truckle was first used in English in the 15th century, it meant “small wheel” or “pulley.” Such small wheels were often attached to the underside of low beds to allow them to be easily moved under high beds for storage. These beds came to be known as truckle beds (or trundle beds), and a verb truckle—meaning “to sleep in a truckle bed”—came into being. By the 17th century, the fact that truckle beds were pushed under larger standard beds had inspired a figurative sense of truckle : “to yield to the wishes of another” or “to bend obsequiously.” The initial verb sense became obsolete; the newer sense is fairly rare but is still in use.

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Peter is a fourth-generation New Zealander, with his mother's and father's folks having arrived in New Zealand in the 1870s. He lives in Lower Hutt with his wife, some cats and assorted computers. His...