[Origin: 1250–1300; (v.) ME squatten < OF esquater,esquatir, equiv. to es-ex-1+ quatir < VL *coactīre to compress, equiv. to L coāct(us), ptp. of cōgere to compress (co-co-+ ag(ere) to drive + -tus ptp. suffix) + -īre inf. suffix; (n.) ME, deriv. of the v.; (adj.) ME: in a squatting position, orig., ptp. of the v.]
To sit in a crouching position with knees bent and the buttocks on or near the heels.
To crouch down, as an animal does.
To settle on unoccupied land without legal claim.
To occupy a given piece of public land in order to acquire title to it.
v.
tr.
To put (oneself) into a crouching posture.
To occupy as a squatter.
adj.
squat·ter, squat·test
Short and thick; low and broad.
Crouched in a squatting position.
n.
The act of squatting.
A squatting or crouching posture.
Sports A lift or a weightlifting exercise in which one squats and stands while holding a weighted barbell supported by the back of the shoulders.
The place occupied by a squatter.
The lair of an animal such as a hare.
Slang A small or worthless amount; diddlysquat.
[Middle English squatten, from Old French esquatir, to crush : es-, intensive pref. (from Latin ex-; see ex-) + quatir, to press flat (from Vulgar Latin *coāctīre, from Latin coāctus, past participle of cōgere, to compress : co-, co- + agere, to drive; see ag- in Indo-European roots).]
c.1410, "crouch on the heels," from O.Fr. esquatir "press down, lay flat, crush," from es- "out" (from L. ex-) + O.Fr. quatir "press down, flatten," from V.L. *coactire "press together, force," from L. coactus, pp. of cogere "to compel, curdle, collect" (see cogent). Slang sense of "nothing at all" first attested 1934, probably suggestive of squatting to defecate. The adjective sense of "short, thick" dates from 1630. Squatter "settler who occupies land without legal title" first recorded 1788; in ref. to paupers or homeless people in uninhabited buildings, it is recorded from 1880.
short and thick; as e.g. having short legs and heavy musculature; "some people seem born to be square and chunky"; "a dumpy little dumpling of a woman"; "dachshunds are long lowset dogs with drooping ears"; "a little church with a squat tower"; "a squatty red smokestack"; "a stumpy ungainly figure" [syn: chunky]
2.
having a low center of gravity; built low to the ground
noun
1.
exercising by repeatedly assuming a crouching position with the knees bent; strengthens the leg muscles [syn: knee bend]
2.
a small worthless amount; "you don't know jack"
3.
the act of assuming or maintaining a crouching position with the knees bent and the buttocks near the heels
verb
1.
sit on one's heels; "In some cultures, the women give birth while squatting"; "The children hunkered down to protect themselves from the sandstorm"
2.
be close to the earth, or be disproportionately wide; "The building squatted low"
Squash\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squashed; p. pr. & vb. n. Squashing.] [OE. squashen, OF. escachier, esquachier, to squash, to crush, F. ['e]cacher, perhaps from (assumed) LL. excoacticare, fr. L. ex + coactare to constrain, from cogere, coactum, to compel. Cf. Cogent, Squat, v. i.] To beat or press into pulp or a flat mass; to crush.
Squat\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squatted; p. pr. & vb. n. Squatting.] [OE. squatten to crush, OF. esquater, esquatir (cf. It. quatto squat, cowering), perhaps fr. L. ex + coactus, p. p. cogere to drive or urge together. See Cogent, Squash, v. t.]1. To sit down upon the hams or heels; as, the savages squatted near the fire. 2. To sit close to the ground; to cower; to stoop, or lie close, to escape observation, as a partridge or rabbit. 3. To settle on another's land without title; also, to settle on common or public lands.
Squat\, a. 1. Sitting on the hams or heels; sitting close to the ground; cowering; crouching. Him there they found, Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve. --Milton. 2. Short and thick, like the figure of an animal squatting. "The round, squat turret." --R. Browning. The head [of the squill insect] is broad and squat. --Grew.
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