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bow

bow

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

bow1 / bō/ • n. 1. a knot tied with two loops and two loose ends, used esp. for tying shoelaces and decorative ribbons: a girl with long hair tied back in a bow. ∎  a decorative ribbon tied in such a knot. 2. a weapon for shooting arrows, typically made of a curved piece of wood whose ends are joined by a taut string. 3. a long, partially curved rod with horsehair stretched along its length, used for playing the violin and other stringed instruments. 4. a thing that is bent or curved in shape. ∎  a side piece or lens frame of a pair of glasses. • v. 1. [tr.] play (a stringed instrument or music) using a bow: the techniques by which the pieces were bowed. 2. bend into the shape of a bow: the sides of the image are squeezed in or bowed out. bow2 / bou/ • v. [intr.] bend the head or upper part of the body as a sign of respect, greeting, or shame: he turned and bowed to his father [tr.] she knelt and bowed her head. ∎  [tr.] express (thanks, agreement, or other sentiments) by bending one's head respectfully: he looked at Hector before bowing grave thanks. ∎  [intr.] bend the body in order to see or concentrate: [as adj.] my mother sat bowed over a library book. ∎  [tr.] cause (something) to bend with age or under a heavy weight: the vines were bowed down with flowers [intr.] the grass bowed down before the wind. ∎  submit to pressure or to someone's demands: the mayor bowed to public opinion. • n. an act of bending the head or upper body as a sign of respect or greeting: the man gave a little bow. PHRASES: bow and scrape behave in an obsequious way to someone in authority. take a bow (of an actor or entertainer) acknowledge applause after a performance by bowing: fig. the aides do the grind work while the boss takes the bows. PHRASAL VERBS: bow out withdraw or retire from an activity, role, or commitment: many artists are forced to bow out of the profession at a relatively early age. bow3 / bou/ (also bows) • n. the front end of a ship: water sprayed high over her bows.

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"bow." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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bow

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | Copyright

bow, the foremost end of a ship, the opposite of stern. From bow to stern, the whole length of a ship. The word is frequently used in the plural, as ‘the bows of a ship’. It was also used at one time to give an approximate bearing of an object in relation to the fore-and-aft line of the ship, as e.g. ‘the buoy bears 15° on the port bow’ or ‘two points on the starboard bow’, as the case may be. On the bow, within an arc of four points (45°) extending either side of the bow. It is the position in the ship where the hawseholes for the anchors are situated and where the jackstaff is stepped. See also bulbous bow. For illus.

see shipbuilding.
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"bow." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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bow

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | | Copyright

bow.
1. Part of a wall projecting from its face, a partial ellipse, semicircle, or segment on plan, usually with a window set in it or extending the full width, known as a bow- or compass-window. If the plan is canted (or part of a polygon), or rectangular, it is not called a bow, but rather a bay, so a projecting window would be a canted bay-window or a rectangular or square bay-window. See bay-window.

2. Arched form, therefore part of a flying buttress.

3. Attribute of the goddess Diana, and therefore associated with hunting.
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "bow." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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bow

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music | 1996 | | Copyright

bow. Flexible stick with horsehair (usually) stretched across it, used to produce sound vibrations from strings of vn., va., vc., db., and other str. instr. Until 17th cent. bow was convex. As vn. technique developed, new forms of concave bow were devised, with hairs kept in place and at an even spread by means of metal ferrule through which hair passed as it left the nut, or ‘frog’ at one end of the bow. Prin. developer of modern bow was François Tourte, c.1785.
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "bow." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "bow." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-bow.html

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Bow

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Bow , river, 315 mi (507 km) long, rising in the Rocky Mts., S Alta., Canada, and flowing SE through Banff National Park. It emerges from the mountains in the Bow River Pass and continues past Calgary southeastward across the plains to its junction with the Belly River to form the South Saskatchewan River. Several dams have been built along the Bow, most notably the Bassano or Horseshoe Bend Dam (built 1912).

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bow

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

bow , implement used in playing stringed instruments. Its name originated from the fact that in its early form it resembled an archer's bow, but by the 17th cent. the European bow had gradually become flat. The violin bow received its definitive form during the period from 1775 to 1781 at the hands of François Tourte (1747–1835). He made the bow of brazilwood (Pernambuco wood), gave it a slightly concave curvature, and invented the device by which the horsehairs are held in place and tightened. The cello and the double bass are played with a bow that is shorter, broader, and heavier than the violin bow.

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bow

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

bow2 bend (esp. the body) OE.; cause to bend XIII; incline the head in salute XVII. OE. būgan = MLG. būgen, MDu. būghen (Du. buigen), corr. to OHG. biogan (G. biegen), Goth. biugan :- Gmc. *beuʒan (Cf. BOW1). The obvious connections outside Gmc. have -g- (to which Gmc. -k- should corr.), viz. L. fugere, Gr. pheūgein flee, Skr. bhuj bow, bend.
Hence bow sb. XVII.
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T. F. HOAD. "bow." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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bow

A Dictionary of the Bible | 1997 | | Copyright

bow A weapon sometimes made of bronze (Ps. 18: 34), wielded by both soldiers and huntsmen. Arrows were made from reeds or polished wood (Isa. 49: 2), occasionally with poisoned tips (Job 6: 4). They were carried in a quiver (Lam. 3: 13) hung over the right shoulder.
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "bow." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

W. R. F. BROWNING. "bow." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-bow.html

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bow

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

bow1 weapon for shooting arrows OE.; transf. to various bent objects XIV. OE. boga bow, rainbow, arch = OS. bogo, OHG. bogo (G. bogen), ON. bogi :- Gmc. *boʒan-, f. *buʒ-, short stem of *beuʒan (Cf. BOW2).
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Bow

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms | 1985 | Copyright

Bow

a herd of cattle; the cattle on a farm [the livestock], c. 1300; bowmen or archers collectively, 1511.

Example: bow of ky [Scots ‘cattle’], 1568.
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bow

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

bow1 a bow at a venture a chance attempt at something, from the biblical ‘a certain man drew a bow at a venture’ (1 Kings 22:34).

See also bow of promise.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "bow." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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bow

The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military | 2001 | Copyright

bow bow also bows n. the front end of a ship: water sprayed high over her bows.
on the bow within 45° of the point directly ahead.
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bow

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

bow3 fore-end of a boat XV. — LG. boog, Du. boeg; see BOUGH and Cf. BOWLINE, BOWSPRIT, which are earlier.
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T. F. HOAD. "bow." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Bow

Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names | 2005 | | Copyright

Bow, Australia, Canada Canada (Alberta): a river so‐called because the Cree made bows from the trees.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Bow." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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bow

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

bow •allow, avow, Bilbao, Bissau, bough, bow, bow-wow, brow, cacao, chow, ciao, cow, dhow, Dow, endow, Foochow, Frau, Hangzhou, Hough, how, Howe, kowtow, Lao, Liao, Macao, Macau, miaow, Mindanao, mow, now, ow, Palau, plough (US plow), pow, prow, row, scow, Slough, sough, sow, Tao, thou, vow, wow, Yangshao

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