Bowing

bow ¹  (bou)

n. Nautical

1. The front section of a ship or boat.

2. The oar or the person wielding the oar closest to the bow.

---

[Middle English boue, probably of Low German origin; see bheug- in Indo-European roots.]

---

bow ²  (bou)

v. bowed, bow·ing, bows

v.intr.

1. To bend or curve downward; stoop.

2. To incline the body or head or bend the knee in greeting, consent, courtesy, acknowledgment, submission, or veneration.

3. To yield in defeat or out of courtesy; submit. See Synonyms at yield.

v.tr.

1. To bend (the head, knee, or body) to express greeting, consent, courtesy, acknowledgment, submission, or veneration.

2. To convey (greeting, for example) by bending the body.

3. To escort deferentially: bowed us into the restaurant.

4. To cause to acquiesce; submit.

5. To overburden: Grief bowed them down.

n.

An inclination of the head or body, as in greeting, consent, courtesy, acknowledgment, submission, or veneration.

Phrasal Verb:

bow out

To remove oneself; withdraw.

Idiom:

bow and scrape

To behave obsequiously.

---

[Middle English bowen, from Old English bgan; see bheug- in Indo-European roots.]

---

bow ³  (b)

n.

1. A bent, curved, or arched object.

2. A weapon consisting of a curved, flexible strip of material, especially wood, strung taut from end to end and used to launch arrows.

3.

a. An archer.

b. Archers considered as a group.

4.

a. Music A rod having horsehair drawn tightly between its two raised ends, used in playing instruments of the violin and viol families.

b. A stroke made by this rod.

5. A knot usually having two loops and two ends; a bowknot.

6.

a. A frame for the lenses of a pair of eyeglasses.

b. The part of such a frame passing over the ear.

7. A rainbow.

8. An oxbow.

v. bowed, bow·ing, bows

v.tr.

1. To bend (something) into the shape of a bow.

2. Music To play (a stringed instrument) with a bow.

v.intr.

1. To bend into a curve or bow.

2. Music To play a stringed instrument with a bow.

---

[Middle English bowe, from Old English boga; see bheug- in Indo-European roots.]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	bowing - bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting obeisance, bow reverence - an act showing respect (especially a bow or curtsy) motion, gesture - the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals genuflection, genuflexion - the act of bending the knees in worship or reverence kotow, kowtow - a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission scrape, scraping - a deep bow with the foot drawn backwards (indicating excessive humility); "all that bowing and scraping did not impress him" salaam - a deep bow; a Muslim form of salutation
	2.	bowing - managing the bow in playing a stringed instrument; "the violinist's bowing was excellent" playing - the act of playing a musical instrument spiccato, spiccato bowing - bowing in such a way that the bow bounces lightly off the strings
Adj.	1.	bowing - showing an excessively deferential manner bowed submissive - inclined or willing to submit to orders or wishes of others or showing such inclination; "submissive servants"; "a submissive reply"; "replacing troublemakers with more submissive people"