squinch

Noun · Verb

Synonyms: flinch funk cringe shrink wince recoil quail squint

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

a small arch built across the interior angle of two walls (usually to support a spire)

Verb (3)

crouch down
draw back, as with fear or pain“she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf”Synonyms: flinch funk cringe shrink wince recoil quail
cross one's eyes as if in strabismus“The children squinted so as to scare each other”Synonyms: squint

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Squinch \Squinch\ (skw[i^]nch), n. [Corrupted fr. sconce.] (Arch.) A small arch thrown across the corner of a square room to support a superimposed mass, as where an octagonal spire or drum rests upon a square tower; -- called also sconce, and sconcheon. [1913 Webster]