bow

Meaning

Noun

1. A weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string, used for shooting arrows.
2. A curved bend in a rod or planar surface, or in a linear formation such as a river (see oxbow).
3. A rod with horsehair (or an artificial substitute) stretched between the ends, used for playing various stringed musical instruments.
4. A stringed instrument (chordophone), consisting of a stick with a single taut cord stretched between the ends, most often played by plucking.
5. A type of knot with two loops, used to tie together two cords such as shoelaces or apron strings, and frequently used as decoration, such as in gift-wrapping.
6. Anything bent or curved, such as a rainbow.
7. The U-shaped piece which goes around the neck of an ox and fastens it to the yoke.
8. Either of the arms of a pair of spectacles, running from the side of the lens to behind the wearer's ear.
9. Any instrument consisting of an elastic rod, with ends connected by a string, employed for giving reciprocating motion to a drill, or for preparing and arranging hair, fur, etc., used by hatters.
10. A crude sort of quadrant formerly used for taking the sun's altitude at sea.
11. Two pieces of wood which form the arched forward part of a saddle tree.
12. The part of a key that is not inserted into the lock and that is used to turn the key.
13. Either of the two handles of a pair of scissors.

Verb

1. To play music on (a stringed) instrument using a bow.
2. (intransitive) To become bent or curved.
3. (transitive) To make something bend or curve.
4. (figuratively, transitive) To exercise powerful or controlling influence over; to bend, figuratively; to turn; to incline.
5. (figuratively, transitive) To humble or subdue, to make submit.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To bend oneself as a gesture of respect or deference.
2. (intransitive, transitive) To debut.
3. (intransitive) To defer (to something).
4. (transitive) To give a direction, indication, or command to by bowing.

Verb

about to

Intj

Ellipsis of bow-wow

Verb

Ellipsis of bow-wow

Opposite of

stern, aft, poop

Synonyms

bend

stoop

prow

bend down

arc

bend over

arch

salute

rudder

televisor

thrust propeller

obeisance

drill

thruster

maneuvering device

propeller

shackle

saw

🪚

winch

curve

thruster machinery compartment

submit

salutation

arrow

lower

incline

bowknot

bow down

knot

🪢

crossbow

slant

nod

twist

crouch

kowtow

stem

lean

gun

🔫

ribbon

🎀

prostrate

yield

prostrate oneself

kneel

give in

fiddlestick

bending

respect

bowing

nose

👃

curtsy

Translations

arc

🙇

Bogen

🙇

arco

🙇

arco

🙇

arco

boog

🙇

proue

τόξο

yay

🙇

arcus

arc

🙇

archet

🙇

Schleife

🙇

buigen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/bəʊ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: bowe

Inherited from Old English: boga

Cognate with Western Frisian: boge

Cognate with Dutch: boog

Cognate with German: Bogen

Cognate with Swedish: båge

Inherited from Middle English: bowen

Inherited from Old English: būgan

Cognate with Western Frisian: bûge

Cognate with Dutch: buigen

Cognate with German: biegen

Cognate with Danish: bue

Cognate with Dutch: boeg

Cognate with Danish: bov

Cognate with Swedish: bog

In summary

From Middle English bowe, from Old English boga, Proto-West Germanic *bogō, from Proto-Germanic *bugô.
Cognates
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Booge (“arch, bow, curve”), West Frisian bôge (“arc, arch, bow”), Dutch boog (“arc, arch, bow”), German Bogen (“arc, arch, bow, curve”), Luxembourgish Bou (“arc, arch, bow, curve”), Vilamovian böga (“arc, arch, bend, bow, curve”), Yiddish בויגן (boygn, “arc, arch, bow, curve”), Danish bue (“arc, arch, bow, curve”), Faroese, Icelandic bogi (“arch, bow, vault”), Jamtish buga (“bow”), Norwegian Bokmål bue (“arc, arch, bow”), Norwegian Nynorsk boge (“arc, arch, bow”), Swedish båge (“bow”), Crimean Gothic boga (“bow”).