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verb (used without object)
1.
to bend the knee or body or incline the head, as in reverence, submission, salutation, recognition, or acknowledgment.
2.
to yield; submit: to bow to the inevitable.
3.
to bend or curve downward; stoop: the pines bowed low.
verb (used with object)
4.
to bend or incline (the knee, body, or head) in worship, submission, respect, civility, agreement, etc.: He bowed his head to the crowd.
5.
to cause to submit; subdue; crush.
6.
to cause to stoop or incline: Age had bowed his head.
7.
to express by a bow: to bow one's thanks.
8.
EXPANDto usher (someone) with a bow (usually followed by in, out, etc.): They were bowed in by the footman.
9.
COLLAPSEto cause to bend; make curved or crooked.
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Bow and scrape
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
noun
Verb phrase10.
an inclination of the head or body in salutation, assent, thanks, reverence, respect, submission, etc.
11.
Idiomsbow out, to resign a position or withdraw from a job, competition, obligation, etc.: He bowed out after two terms as governor.
12.
bow and scrape, to be excessively polite or deferential.
13.
make one's bow, to appear publicly for the first time, as a performer, politician, etc.: The young pianist made her bow last night to an appreciative audience.
14.
take a bow, to step forward or stand up in order to receive recognition, applause, etc.: The conductor had the soloists take a bow.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English bowen (v.), Old English būgan; cognate with Dutch buigen; akin to German biegen, Gothic biugan, Old Norse buga, etc.
before 900; Middle English bowen (v.), Old English būgan; cognate with Dutch buigen; akin to German biegen, Gothic biugan, Old Norse buga, etc.
Related forms
bowed·ness, noun
bow·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To bow and scrape
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bow
"front of a ship," mid-14c., from O.N. bogr or M.Du. boech "bow of a ship," lit. "shoulder (of an animal)," the connecting notion being "the shoulders of the ship." See bough.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
bow and scrape
Behave obsequiously or too deferentially, as in In this fashionable store, the salespersons virtually bow and scrape before customers. This term alludes to the old-fashioned custom of bowing so deeply that one's foot draws back and scrapes the ground. A cliché for a century or more, it may be dying out. [Mid-1600s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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