bow

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[edit] English

[edit] Etymology 1

From Old English boga, from Proto-Germanic *bugô. Cognate with Dutch boog, German Bogen, Swedish båge, Danish bue.

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Noun

a bow (1)

bow (plural bows)

  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, similar to the item described above.
  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.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
weapon used for shooting arrows
bend in a rod or planar surface
rod used for playing stringed instruments
musical bow — see musical bow
type of knot with two loops

[edit] Verb

bow (third-person singular simple present bows, present participle bowing, simple past and past participle bowed)

  1. To play music on (a stringed instrument) using a bow.
    The musician bowed his violin expertly.
  2. (intransitive) To become bent or curved.
    The shelf bowed under the weight of the books.
  3. (transitive) To make something bend or curve.
[edit] Translations
to play music on using a bow
to become bent
to bend a thing

[edit] Etymology 2

From Old English būgan, from Proto-Germanic *beuganan. Cognate with Dutch buigen, German biegen.

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Noun

bow (plural bows)

  1. A gesture, usually showing respect, made by bending forward at the waist.
    He bowed politely as he entered the room.
  2. A debut
    The new product will make its bow on the world market this summer.
    • 1832, “Literary Notices”, The Rail-Road Journal, volume 1, number 1, page 123: 
      The first named one, it will be observed, is but a debutant. It makes its bow in a drab-colored Quaker-looking dress, and barring a lively McGrawler-like critique upon " Lewis' Poems," is staid and professorial in its tone.
[edit] Translations
gesture made by bending forward at the waist

[edit] Verb

bow (third-person singular simple present bows, present participle bowing, simple past and past participle bowed)

  1. (intransitive) To bend oneself as a gesture of respect or deference.
    • 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
      The soldier now blew upon a green whistle, and at once a young girl, dressed in a pretty green silk gown, entered the room. She had lovely green hair and green eyes, and she bowed low before Dorothy as she said, "Follow me and I will show you your room."
  2. (transitive and intransitive) To debut.
    • 2010 (publication date), Kara Krekeler, "Rebuilding the opera house", West End Word, volume 39, number 26, December 22, 2010 – January 11, 2011, page 1:
      SCP recently announced that How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical will bow on the newly renovated stage next December.
  3. (intransitive) To defer (to something).
    I bow to your better judgement in the matter.
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
to bend oneself as a gesture of respect or deference
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
  • Breton: gwareg f. (1)
  • Ido: kurv-igar

[edit] Etymology 3

Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia

Low German

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Noun

The bow of a ship.

bow (plural bows)

  1. (nautical) The front of a boat or ship.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
front of a boat or ship

[edit] See also

[edit] Anagrams

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