I. ˈbau̇ verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English bowen, from Old English būgan; akin to Old High German biogan to bend, Old Norse boginn bent, beygja to bend, Gothic biugan to bend, Sanskrit bhujati he bends
intransitive verb
1. archaic
a. : bend , curve
b. : to bend down : stoop
c. : turn , swerve , wend
2. : to give in : cease from independent resolution, competition, or resistance through courtesy, cooperation, subjugation, admission of defeat, or inferior position : defer , yield
a man who good-humoredly bowed to the inevitable — Willa Cather
specifically : to suffer defeat in a contest
bowed to the champion in a close match
3. : to bend the head or the body or the knee as an expression of reverence, submission, or shame
bow and scrape
— often used with down
bowing down before false goods
4. : to incline the head or body in salutation
bowing to acquaintances
or as a sign of assent (as to a request or order) or to acknowledge applause
transitive verb
1. : to cause to incline : bend
the wind bows the treetops
2. obsolete : turn , incline
may God bow their hearts to our cause
3. : to bend or incline (the head, neck, body, or knee) especially as a sign or token of respect, submission, surrender, or self-abasement
the whole nation bowed their necks to tyranny — W.H.Prescott
4. : to crush with or as if with a heavy burden
whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave — Shakespeare
5.
a. : to express or signal by bowing
he bowed his thanks
b. : to usher in or out with a bow
bowed in by a footman
Synonyms: see yield
II. noun
( -s )
: a bending of the head or body as an expression of reverence, respect, submission, or assent or as a salutation : obeisance
•
- make one's bow
III. ˈbō noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English bowe, from Old English boga; akin to Old High German bogo bow, Old Norse bogi, Old English būgan to bend
1.
a. : something bent into a simple curve : bend , arch
perfect bows above her eyes
bow -backed
b. : rainbow
I do set my bow in the cloud — Gen 9:13 (Authorized Version)
c. : a curved or polygonal part projecting from a straight wall of a building
2. : a weapon made of a strip of wood, metal, or other flexible material with a cord that connects the two ends so as to hold the strip bent in an arc under tension and used to propel an arrow by nocking the arrow on the string and drawing it back against the tension so that upon release it is propelled through the air
3. : bowman , archer
he was high bow in the meet
4. : saddlebow
5.
a. dialect : a U-shaped piece embracing the neck of an ox and fastening it to the yoke ; also : an ox yoke
b. now dialect Britain : an arch especially of a bridge or gateway
four-and-twenty bows on the old bridge of Callander
c. : a bentwood support used in furniture
d. : an early nautical quadrant for measuring arcs, chiefly the sun's altitude
e. : a metal ring or loop forming a handle (as of a key or a pair of scissors) or encircling the winding crown of a pocket watch for attaching a chain
f. : the guard of a sword hilt or trigger
g. : a bent piece of wood or metal supporting the top or cover of a vehicle : bail
h. : a knot (as an ornamental slipknot) formed by doubling a ribbon or string into two or more loops which usually can be readily drawn through the knot in untying ; also : bow tie
i. : a frame for the lenses of eyeglasses ; also : the curved sidepiece passing over the ear to support eyeglasses
j. : the frame of a snowshoe
6.
a. : a resilient wooden rod originally having a convex curve but from the late 18th century on being slightly concave with a number of horsehairs stretched from end to end and used in playing on a musical instrument of the viol or violin family
b. : a stroke of the bow in playing a stringed instrument
the up bow
7. : a contrivance that consists of a bent elastic rod with ends connected by a string and is employed for various purposes (as for giving reciprocating motion to a drill, for wood turning, and for preparing and arranging the hair and fur used by hatters)
8. : a bent rod or piece in basketmaking ; especially : a rod bent twice at right angles so as to form three sides of a rectangle
9. : a warping along the length of a piece of lumber — compare crook
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
1. : to bend into a curve : bend out of line
the wall bows inward
2. : to play a stringed musical instrument with a bow ; also : to perform with or manage the bow
transitive verb
1. : to make or bend into a curve
a desk with a bowed front
2. : to separate and distribute (cotton fibers for felting) by a bow
3. : to play (a stringed instrument) with a bow
V. ˈbau̇ noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably from Danish bov bow, shoulder, from Old Norse bōgr — more at bough
1. : the forward part of a ship : the part where the sides curve inward to terminate in the stem
the bow lights
— often used in plural
passed under her bows
bows under
— see ship illustration
2. : one that rows in the forward end of a boat : bow oar
•
- on the bow
VI. ˈbō, ˈbü noun
( -s )
Etymology: by alteration
: boll I 1