prow

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pɹaʊ/
• Rhymes: -aʊ

Etymology 1

Wikipedia

From Latin prora, from Ancient Greek πρῷρα (prōira).

Noun

prow (plural prows)

1. (nautical) The fore part of a vessel; the bow; the stem; hence, the vessel itself.
   • Milton

     The floating vessel swum / Uplifted, and secure with beaked prow / rode tilting o'er the waves.

   • 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forgot Chapter IV

     We were already rather close in; but I ordered the U-33's prow turned inshore and we crept slowly along, constantly dipping up the water and tasting it to assure ourselves that we didn't get outside the fresh-water current.

Synonyms

• prore

Translations

fore part of a vessel; bow

• Armenian: քիթ (hy) (k’it’)
• Asturian: proba (ast) f, proa (ast) f
• Catalan: proa (ca) f
• Dutch: voorsteven (nl) f, boeg (nl) f
• Esperanto: pruo (eo)
• French: proue (fr) f
• Galician: proa (gl) f
• German: Bug (de) m, Bugüberhang (de) m
• Icelandic: trjóna (is) f, skegg (is) n
• Italian: prua (it) f, prora (it) f
• Jèrriais: d'vant m

• Latin: prora (la) f, rostrum (la) n
• Portuguese: proa (pt) f
• Romanian: proră (ro) f, provă (ro) f
• Russian: нос (ru) (nos) m
• Scottish Gaelic: toiseach (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: прамац (sh) m

  Roman: pramac (sh) m

• Spanish: proa (es) f
• Volapük: föfastev (vo), föfanaf (vo)

Etymology 2

From Middle English, from Old French prou, from Late Latin prode; more at proud.

Adjective

prow (comparative prower, superlative prowest)

1. (archaic) Brave, valiant, gallant.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, Canto II.iii

     For they be two the prowest knights on ground, / And oft approu’d in many hard assay

Related terms

• prowess

Translations

brave, valiant

• Dutch: dapper (nl), moedig (nl)

Etymology 3

Noun

prow (plural prows)

1. Alternative form of proa.