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35,981 English word records · 45,491 etymology sections in this online subset
PARTIAL ENGLISH COVERAGE · FULL CORPUS REMAINS LOCAL7 source sections across 1 headword matching “Bow”. These are separate from the reviewed results below.
bowEnglish (en) · Etymology 1Source text
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 and 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”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗bowEnglish (en) · Etymology 2Source text
From Middle English bowen, buwen, buȝen, from Old English būgan, from Proto-West Germanic *beugan, from Proto-Germanic *beuganą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- (“to bend”). Cognates Cognate with Scots boo, bou (“to bend, bow”), Dutch buigen (“to bow”), German biegen (“to bow”), Low German bugen (“to bow”), Luxembourgish béien (“to bow”), Danish bue (“to curve, arch”), Swedish buga (“to bow”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌿𐌲𐌰𐌽 (biugan, “to bend, bow”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗bowEnglish (en) · Etymology 3Source text
PIE word *bʰeh₂ǵʰús From Middle English bowe, bowgh, a borrowing from Middle Low German bôch and/or Middle Dutch boech, from Proto-Germanic *bōguz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵʰus (“arm”). Doublet of bough. Cognates Cognate with Dutch boeg (“bow”), German Bug (“bow, prow (of a ship); shoulder joint (of an animal)”), Luxembourgish Buch, Bou (“shoulder joint (of an animal)”), Danish bov (“bow”), Icelandic bógur (“bow”), Norwegian Bokmål baug (“bow”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish bog (“bow; shoulder (of an animal)”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗bowEnglish (en) · Etymology 4Source text
bowEnglish (en) · Etymology 5Source text
Borrowed from Mandarin 包 (bāo) or Cantonese 包 (baau1).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗bowEnglish (en) · Etymology 6Source text
Clipping of boutta, itself a contraction of about to.
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗bowEnglish (en) · Etymology 7Source text
Clipping of bow-wow
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗INDEPENDENT SOURCE LIBRARY
More sources for this spelling
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Chambers (1908)
1908- BowEnglish · e-37683-3313
Bow, bow, v.i. to bend the body in saluting a person, acknowledging a compliment, &c.: to submit.—v.t. to bend or incline downwards, to crush down (with down, to, in or out, up or down).—n. a bending of the body in salut
Read the full source record → - BowEnglish · e-37683-3314
Bow, bō, n. a piece of elastic wood or other material for shooting arrows, bent by means of a string stretched between its two ends: anything of a bent or curved shape, as the rainbow: the instrument by which the strings
Read the full source record → - BowEnglish · e-37683-3315
Bow, bow, n. the general name for the stem and forepart of a ship, or that which cuts the water—often used in pl., the ship being considered to have starboard and port bows, meeting at the stem.—ns. Bow′er, Bow′er-anch′o
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