creeping
忍び寄る
解説 Definition
creeping は creep（ゆっくり忍び寄る、はう）の現在分詞・動名詞です。人や動物、霧や不安などが静かに少しずつ近づく様子を表します。
Creeping is the -ing form of creep and describes someone or something moving slowly, quietly, and often close to the ground. It can also describe fog, shadows, fear, or other things that spread or approach gradually.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
creep「はう・忍び寄る」に -ing を付けた現在分詞・動名詞で、語末の p はそのまま重ねず creeping となる。発音は /ˈkriːpɪŋ/。猫が低い姿勢で進む場面から、creeping fog「じわじわ広がる霧」や creeping fear「忍び寄る不安」へ結び付ける。
Start with the base verb creep, meaning to crawl or move slowly and quietly, then add -ing to show an action in progress or to name that action. The final p is not doubled: creep becomes creeping, pronounced /ˈkriːpɪŋ/. Picture a cat keeping its body low while moving under a fence. That physical image also supports figurative combinations such as creeping fog, creeping darkness, and a creeping fear: each advances so gradually that it may be hard to notice at first. The key idea is quiet, slow, step-by-step movement or spread.
例文
A cat was creeping under the fence.
猫がフェンスの下をそっとはっていました。
The fog is creeping across the field.
霧が野原に少しずつ広がっています。
He noticed a shadow creeping along the wall.
彼は影が壁に沿って忍び寄るのに気づきました。
creeping の類義語・関連語
creeping の語源・成り立ち Etymology
古英語 crēopan（這う、ゆっくり進む）から。ゲルマン祖語 *kreupaną に遡り、地面に体を低くして動く様子が原義。転じて植物がつるを伸ばす意味や、恐怖がじわじわ迫る比喩にも使われる。関連語: creep（忍び寄り）、creepy（不気味な）。
Creeping is formed from creep plus the present-participle and gerund suffix -ing. Creep comes from Old English crēopan, meaning “to crawl” or “move close to the ground,” and is related to other Germanic words with similar senses. The early physical image was of a person or animal moving in a low, slow manner. English later extended this idea to plants spreading along a surface and to fog, darkness, fear, or change advancing gradually.
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