Squatted

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Lower the body close to the ground by bending the knees in a low sitting position ; to take up residence in a place without legal right or permission
2. To sit or crouch with knees bent and the body close to the ground ; to settle on land or in a building without the owner's consent
3. Assumes a low crouching posture by bending one's legs ; to occupy a building or piece of land illicitly by living there without authorization

Etymology: Before it described a crouching posture, this word meant to press something flat. It likely comes from Old French "esquatir," meaning "to flatten" or "to crush," and English adopted it with that sense of pressing down. Over time the meaning shifted from the act of flattening to the posture of a body pressed low to the ground, the crouch of someone sitting on their heels. The sense of occupying a place without permission grew from that picture of settling low and staying put. A person who sits down on land and refuses to leave has, in effect, taken up a position, and the idea of settling in without a legal claim followed naturally. The "squatter" who settled on unclaimed or unowned land took the name from this sense of settling in place.

Synonyms: crouched, hunched, stooped