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View synonyms for bower

bower

1

[ bou-er ]

noun

  1. a leafy shelter or recess; arbor.
  2. a rustic dwelling; cottage.
  3. a lady's boudoir in a medieval castle.


verb (used with object)

  1. to enclose in or as in a bower; embower.

bower

2

[ bou-er ]

noun

, Nautical.
  1. an anchor carried at a ship's bow.

bower

3

[ bou-er ]

noun

  1. a person or thing that bows or bends.

bower

4

[ boh-er ]

noun

, Music.
  1. a musician, as a violinist, who performs with a bow on a stringed instrument.

bower

1

/ ˈbaʊə /

noun

  1. nautical a vessel's bow anchor


bower

2

/ ˈbaʊə /

noun

  1. a jack in euchre and similar card games

bower

3

/ ˈbaʊə /

noun

  1. a shady leafy shelter or recess, as in a wood or garden; arbour
  2. literary.
    a lady's bedroom or apartments, esp in a medieval castle; boudoir
  3. literary.
    a country cottage, esp one regarded as charming or picturesque

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Derived Forms

  • ˈbowery, adjective

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Other Words From

  • bower·like adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bower1

First recorded before 900; Middle English bour, bur, bure “dwelling, shelter, bower,” Old English būr “dwelling, shelter, chamber”; cognate with Old Norse būr “pantry, storehouse,” German Bauer “cage, birdcage”; akin to neighbor

Origin of bower2

First recorded in 1645–55; bow 3 + -er 1

Origin of bower3

First recorded in 1590–1600; bow 1 + -er 1

Origin of bower4

First recorded in 1650–70; bow 2, -er 1

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bower1

C18: from bow ³ + -er 1

Origin of bower2

C19: from German Bauer peasant, jack (in cards)

Origin of bower3

Old English būr dwelling; related to Old Norse būr pantry, Old High German būr dwelling

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Example Sentences

At least some of that wonder must have crept right off their marriage bower at the Globe.

Bower seems not to understand that all flight-testing is incremental.

After authorities told Bower her son had been sexually abused by older boys, Bower resumed custody.

Tom Bower is the author of Oil, Money, Politics, and Power in the 21st Century.

Tom Bower, author of Oil, Money, Politics, and Power in the 21st Century, on what it means for the Gulf.

They found the old woman alone, knitting in her rustic chair in her floral bower on the roof.

As the strongest winds were the South and East, the bower anchor was laid in the latter direction.

It is a real bower for a maiden of romance, with its rich green fragrance in the midst of winter.

Somewhere else queen's wreath and devil's ivy made a tiny bower of loveliness.

He was long gone thence to the bower where Elfrida sat with her maidens preparing for the morrow.

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Bowen's reaction seriesbowerbird