squinch

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a small arch built across the interior angle of two walls (usually to support a spire)
verb crouch down
verb draw back, as with fear or pain

Alteration of earlier scunch (“back part of the side of an opening”), short for scuncheon.

You know w'at de jay-bird say ter der squinch owl! — Nights With Uncle Remus, Joel Chandler Harris
You know w'at de jay-bird say ter der squinch owl! — Nights With Uncle Remus: Myths and Legends of the Old Plantation, Joel Chandler Harris
I seen the sign, and you is too.” “I heard a squinch owl that night.” T. P. said. — The sound and the fury, William Faulkner

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