cringe

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
cringe /krɪn(d)ʒ/

▶verb (cringes, cringing, cringed)

• 1 bend one's head and body in fear or apprehension or in a servile manner.

• 2 experience an inward shiver of embarrassment or disgust.

▶noun an act of cringing.

– derivatives
cringer noun.

– origin ME crenge, crenche, rel. to OE cringan, crincan ‘bend, yield, fall in battle’, of Gmc origin and rel. to crank1.