Crouch
late Middle English: perhaps from Old French crochir ‘be bent’, from croche (see crotch).
wiktionary
From Middle English crouchen(“to bend, crouch”), variant of croken(“to bend, crook”), from crok(“crook, hook”), from Old Norse krókr(“hook”), from Proto-Germanic *krōkaz(“hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerg-(“wicker, bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger-(“to turn, wind, weave”). Compare Middle Dutch krōken(“to crook, curl”). More at crook.
From Middle English crouche, cruche, from Old English crūċ(“cross”). Compare Old Saxon krūci(“cross”), Old High German krūzi(“cross”). Doublet of cross and crux.
etymonline
crouch (v.)
"to stoop low, lie close to the ground," late 14c., probably from Old French crochir "become bent, crooked," from croche "hook" (see crochet). Related: Crouched; crouching. As a noun, "a crouching position," from 1590s.
