bow

bow · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*bugô
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*bogō
3. Old English · inherited fromboga
4. Middle English · inherited frombowe
5. English todaybow

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”).

bow · verb, noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰewgʰ-“to bend”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*beuganą
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*beugan
4. Old English · inherited frombūgan
5. Middle English · inherited frombowen
6. English todaybow

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”).

bow · noun³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰeh₂ǵʰus“arm”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*bōguz
3. Middle Dutch · derived fromboech
4. Middle Low German · derived frombôch
5. Middle English · inherited frombowe
6. English todaybow

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)”).

bow · noun⁴

See bough.

bow · noun⁵

Borrowed from Mandarin 包 (bāo) or Cantonese 包 (baau1).

bow · verb⁶

Clipping of boutta, itself a contraction of about to.

bow · interjection, noun, verb⁷

Clipping of bow-wow

Words from the same roots