Bow v.¹

Pa. t. and pple. bowed. Forms: Inf. 1 búʓan, 2–3 buȝe(n, 3 bouȝe(n, buwe(n, buen, bouwe, buch, 4 boowe(n, boȝ(e, boghe, bu(e, bou(e, bugh, bouh, buu, 4–5 bogh, 4–7 bowe, 5 bow-in, -yn, 6 bough, 6–8 boow, 4– bow. Strong pa. t. 1 béaʓ, béah (pl. buʓon), 2–3 beh (pl. buȝen), 3 bæh, bah, beoh, beih, bieh, (pl. bæhȝen, buȝeȝen, buhȝen, biȝen, bowen), 4 beiȝ, beȝgh, bey(ȝ, bugh, (pl. boȝen). Strong pa. pple. 1 boʓen, 3–4 (i)boȝen, (i)buwen, 4 bowe(n. Weak pa. t. 3 boȝede, bouwed, 4 boȝed, boghed, -id, -ud, bued, buud, boued, boud, bowede, -ide, -id, -et, 4– bowed. Weak pa. pple. 4 (i)bowed, 4–6 bowid, -yd, boude (Sc. bewchit, bowit), 4– bowed. [Orig. a strong vb.: OE. búʓan (pa. t. béah, buʓon, pple. boʓen), corresp. to OS. *bûgan, (MDu. bûghen, MLG. bûgen, Du. buigen); also with different vowel in the present stem, OHG. biogan (MHG. and mod.G. biegen), ON. *bjúga (pa. t. pl. bugum, pple. boginn), Goth. biugan (pa. t. baug, bugum, pple. bugans):—OTeut. stem *beug- f. root bug-, apparently identical with Skr. bhuj- to bow, bend, L. fugere, Gr. φέυγ-ειν to flee; although the expected Teut. form corresponding to these would be buk-. The causal of this was OTeut. baugjan, OE. bíeʓan, býʓan, weak verb: see BEY v. In early ME. there was some confusion of forms in writing, due to the ambiguous use of u for both OE. ú, and Fr. u = ü, OE. y. As early as the 13th c. bow began to usurp the sense of bey, which became obs. in the 14th c.; and coincidently with this extension of sense, bow began to take a weak pa. t. and pa. pple.

  (This is one of several vbs. in which the LG. langs. (OE., OFris., OS., Nether-Frankish) have û against the iu of Gothic, ON. jû, OHG. io.)]

  I.  Intransitive uses. (Rarely trans. by ellipsis.) In the literal senses 1–4 superseded by BEND.

  † 1.  To assume a bent or crooked shape, position or attitude; to bend. Obs. exc. dial.

a. 1000.  Holy Rood, 36 (Gr.). Þær ic þa ne dorste … buʓan oððe berstan.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 11683. Bogh þou til vs … þou tre.

c. 1374.  Chaucer, Anel. & Arc., 186. Hir daunger made him … bowe and beende.

c. 1430.  Hymns Virg. (1867), 73. My backe bowiþ, myn iȝen ben soore.

1526.  Tindale, Phil. ii. 10. That in the name of Jesus shuld every knee bowe.

1562.  J. Heywood, Prov. & Epigr. (1867), 152. Better boowe then breake.

1603.  Shaks., Meas. for M., III. i. 26. Like an Asse, whose backe with Ingots bowes.

1618.  Bp. Hall, Serm., v. 110. Let the smith strike a bar … though it be iron, it bows.

1677.  Moxon, Mech. Exerc. (1703), 14. When you chuse Iron, chuse such as bows oftenest before it break.

Mod. Sc.  A pin bows more easily than a needle.

  † 2.  To turn; to turn aside, off or away; to turn back, retreat; to swerve, decline. Also fig. Obs.

a. 1000.  Ælfric, Man. Astron., in Pop. Treat. Sc., 10. Heo næfre ne byhð ne ufor ne nyðor. Ibid., Ex. xxxii. 8. Hiʓ buʓon raðe of þam wæʓe.

c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 117. Buh from uuele and do god.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 19379. Þai … neuer … ne buud fra cristen trouth.

1382.  Wyclif, Baruch iv. 12. Thei bowiden awei fro the lawe of God.

1548.  Udall, etc., Erasm. Par., Pref. 9. Boughed neyther to the ryghte hande ne to the lefte.

1580.  Hollyband, Treas. Fr. Tong, Decliner, to decline, to bowe from.

  † b.  (in wider sense) To bend one’s course, turn or direct one’s steps, wend one’s way, make one’s way, go, betake oneself. (Sometimes, with appropriate context, = flee.) Obs.

a. 1000.  Ælfric, Ex. xxi. 13. Ic ʓesette him hwæder he buʓan sceal.

c. 1205.  Lay., 5559. Heo iseiȝen Brennes buȝe [c. 1275 comen] heom to-ȝennes. Ibid., 14273. Forð he gon buȝen [c. 1275 wende]. Ibid. (c. 1275), 9351. Hamund to þane wode fleh and touward þe see he bieh.

c. 1325.  E. E. Allit. P., A. 973. Bow vp to-warde þys bornez heued.

c. 1330.  R. Brunne, Chron., 141. Henry in Inglond wonnes … & wille not bouh.

1382.  Wyclif, John v. 13. Ihesu bowide him fro the cumpany.

c. 1400.  Destr. Troy, 9490. Þen fled all in fere, and the fild leuit, Bowet to þere bastels with bale at þere herttes.

  † c.  To bow in: to turn in, enter. Obs.

c. 1380.  Wyclif, Sel. Wks., III. 5. Þis cumfort bowiþ into myn herte. Ibid., 7. If clensid it [þe soule? kepiþ clene, bowynge þerenne abundantly grace of parfiȝt knowynge of virtues.

  † 3.  To have a curved direction, to lie or proceed in a curve; to curve, to be deflected. Obs.

c. 893.  K. Ælfred, Oros., I. i. § 9. Nilus seo ea … west irnende … and þonan norþ buʓende ut on þone Wendelsæ.

1388.  Wyclif, Isa. lix. 8. The pathis of hem ben bowid to hem.

1530.  Palsgr., 461. The toppe of Charyng crosse hath bowed downwardes [se est decliné] many a daye.

1535.  Coverdale, Numb. xxiii. 28. The toppe of mount Peor y^t Boweth towarde the wyldernesse.

1601.  Holland, Pliny, I. 118. The very coasts of this streight Bosphorus … boweth and windeth like a curb to Mæotis.

1607.  Topsell, Four-f. Beasts, 316. Another hot sharp Iron like a Bodkin, somewhat bowing at the point.

1756.  Mrs. Calderwood, Jrnl., in Athenæum, No. 2984. 10/2. The ridge of the boat, which bows like an arch.

  † b.  fig. To have an inclination; to tend. Obs.

1562.  Turner, Herbal, II. 108 b. Peares ar temperat, in a mean betwene heat and cold, or they bow a litle to coldnes.

  † 4.  To stoop or lower the head and upper part of the body, esp. in condescension. Obs. (or arch.)

c. 1200.  Trin. Coll. Hom., 121. Ure drihten … beih of heuene to mannen.

a. 1240.  Lofsong, in Cott. Hom., 211. Heie helinde, beih þe to me, and buh to mine bonen.

c. 1300.  in Wright, Lyric P., xxv. 70. Thin heved doun boweth to suete cussinge.

1534.  Ld. Berners, Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546), C vij b. It is necessarie … to remount to very high thinges, leste it bowe vnto lowe and yl thinges.

1842.  Tennyson, Dora, 101. She bow’d upon her hands … She bow’d down And wept in secret.

  5.  To bend the neck under a yoke; hence, to become a thrall or subject; to submit, yield, render obedience to.

Beowulf, 2918. Se byrn-wiʓa buʓan sceolde.

a. 1000.  O. E. Chron., an. 913. Him beaʓ god dæl þæs folces to.

c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 91. Þa underfengen heo his lare and buȝen to fulehte.

a. 1240.  Lofsong, in Cott. Hom., 205. Ich habbe ofte ibuwen to alle mine þreo i-fon.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 14496. All þis werld til him sal buu.

a. 1340.  Hampole, Psalter, lxxx[i]. 11. My folke boghed noght til my worde.

c. 1386.  Chaucer, Wyf’s Prol., 440. On of us tuo mot bowe douteles.

1531.  Elyot, Gov. (1580), 174. A man should not bowe for any Fortune or trouble of minde.

1682.  Dryden, Satyr to Muse, 149. Under Iron Yokes make Indians Bow.

1808.  J. Barlow, Columb., III. 436. They bow in silence to the victor’s chains.

1862.  Stanley, Jew. Ch. (1877), I. xviii. 344. He at last bows to the inevitable course of events.

1871.  Freeman, Norm. Conq. (1876), IV. xvii. 57. Winchester … bowed to William some while before his coronation.

  † b.  (Also construed with a dative appearing afterwards as a simple obj.): To obey. Obs.

c. 1205.  Lay., 7295. Ȝif heo me wulleð buȝen [c. 1275 bouwe].

a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 198. Þet child þet ne buhð nout his eldre.

1375.  Barbour, Bruce, IX. 753. Till at thou knaw The richt, and bow it as thou aw.

c. 1400.  Destr. Troy, 507. Tho obeit the bolde, and bowet hir fader.

  6.  To bend the body, knee, or head, in token of reverence, respect or submission; to make obeisance. (Emphasized by down: const. to, before.)

a. 1000.  Ælfric, Numb. xxv. 2. [Israhela bearn] to þam hæþenʓilde buʓon.

c. 1200.  Trin. Coll. Hom., 199. Buȝe we to þe stone.

c. 1205.  Lay., 22482. Swa he on his cneowen bæh.

a. 1240.  Orison, in Cott. Hom., 191. To þe ich buwe and mine kneon ich beie.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 11629 (Gött.), title, Hou þe tre boued to saint mari.

1593.  Hooker, Eccl. Pol., I. viii. § 11. Shall I bow to the stock of a tree?

1611.  Bible, Esther iii. 5. Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reuerence [Wyclif, bowid not kne; Coverdale, bowed not the knee]. Ibid. (1611), Ps. xcv. 6. O come, let vs worship and bowe downe [Coverd. ourselues]: let vs kneele before the Lord our maker.

1667.  Milton, P. L., I. 111. To bow and sue for grace With suppliant knee.

1781.  Gibbon, Decl. & F., III. xlix. 114. An hundred princes bowed before his throne.

1871.  Morley, Rousseau (1873), II. 267. That which asks us to bow down and worship God as a ‘stream of tendency.’

  7.  To incline the body or head (to a person) in salutation, acknowledgement of courtesy, polite assent, etc.; to make or give a bow.

1651.  Proc. Parliament, No. 93. 1428. Then he bowed to the Court and Councel.

1698.  Dryden, Virg. Æneid, II. 186. With graceful action bowing thus began.

1709.  Steele & Addison, Tatler, No. 81, ¶ 4. He bowed to Homer, and sat down by him.

1837.  Dickens, Pickw., ii. ‘My friend, sir, Mr. Snodgrass,’ said Mr. Winkle … Doctor Slammer’s friend bowed.

1848.  Macaulay, Hist. Eng., I. 150. He smiled, bowed, and extended his hand graciously to the lips of the colonels and majors.

Mod.  Her Majesty acknowledged the cheers by bowing graciously as she drove along. He bowed to her as usual, but she looked straight before her, and passed on.

  b.  trans. To express by bowing.

1606.  Shaks., Ant. & Cl., II. iii. 3. All which time, before the Gods my knee shall bow my prayers to them for you.

1821.  Keats, Isabel, xxiv. Lorenzo … Bow’d a fair greeting.

1884.  Punch, 20 Dec., 294/2. Mr. Punch bows his acknowledgments to ‘Good Words.’

Mod.  Mr. B—— bowed his assent.

  c.  To usher in or out with a bow, or bows; so to bow (any one) up or down (stairs, etc.).

1819.  Crabbe, T. of Hall, III. 60. Argue he could not, but in case of doubt, Or disputation, fairly bow’d it out.

1833.  Ht. Martineau, Briery Creek, ii. 31. Returning from bowing out Dr. Sneyd with much civility.

1851.  Thackeray, Eng. Hum., iii. (1858), 114. He and his chamberlains bow her up the great stair to the state apartments.

  II.  8. Reflexive uses. The pronoun was perhaps originally dative, but was at length treated as a simple object, as in III. Obs. or arch.

  a.  in sense 1.

a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 266. Buh þe, he seið, aduneward … Þeo buhð hire, þet to his fondunde beieð hire heorte.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 11683 (Gött.). Boue þe till vs … þu tre.

c. 1300.  in Wright, Lyric P., xvi. 54. Hire loue … beh him to me over bord.

c. 1430.  Chev. Assigne, 335. He bowethe hym down & ȝeldethe vp þe lyfe.

1611.  Bible, Eccles. xii. 3. When … the strong men shall bowe themselues.

  b.  in sense 2.

c. 1205.  Lay., 7499. Beiene þa eorles buȝen heom [c. 1275 wende] togaderes.

1382.  Wyclif, John v. 13. Ihesu bowide him fro the cumpany.

c. 1430.  Chev. Assigne, 265. An holy abbot was þer-by & he hym þeder bowethe.

  c.  in sense 5

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 19132. Bot mani turnd þar and … To baptim tak þam-seluen buud. Ibid., 19529. Þe folk was in þat tun to þe baptiszing þam buud.

  d.  in sense 6.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 8961. Dun sco bugh hir to þe grund [v.r. bowid hir]. Ibid., 10902. To goddes sande scho gan hir bow [Cott. bu].

1535.  Coverdale, Dan. ii. 46. [He] fell downe vpon his face, and bowed him self vnto Daniel.

1611.  Bible, Ex. xx. 5. Thou shalt not bow downe thy selfe to them.

  e.  in sense 7.

a. 1626.  Bacon, New Atl., 11. He bowed himself a little to us. Ibid., 15. At which speech we all rose up and bowed our selves.

  III.  Causative uses, in which bow has taken the place of the obs. causal BEY.

  9.  trans. To cause (a thing) to bend; to force or bring into a curved or angular shape; to inflect, curve, crook. arch. and dial. (as in Sc.).

a. 1300.  K. Horn, 427. Armes heo gan buȝe, Adun he feol iswoȝe.

1502.  Arnolde, Chron. (1811), 164. Take a graff and bowe it in bothe endes.

1598.  J. Dickenson, Greene in Conc. (1878), 133. Tender twigges may with ease be bowed.

1600.  Holland, Livy, XXI. lviii. 427. They could hardly bend and bow their joints.

1613.  Shaks., Hen. VIII., II. iii. 36. A three-pence bow’d would hire me.

1626.  Bacon, Sylva, § 426. Take a low Tree, and bow it.

1680.  Baxter, Answ. Stillingfl., Pref. A iij b. Iron is too stiff for me to bow.

1875.  Darwin, Insectiv. Pl., viii. 194. The tentacles after a time being bowed backwards.

  † b.  fig. Obs.

1599.  Shaks., Hen. V., I. ii. 14. God forbid … That you should fashion, wrest, or bow your reading … With opening Titles miscreate.

1662.  Fuller, Worthies (1840), III. 289. Latin words are bowed in their modern senses.

1678.  Butler, Hud., Lady’s Answ., 156. Marriage, at best, is but a Vow: Which all Men either break, or bow.

  c.  esp. To bow the knee: i.e., to bend it in adoration or reverence.

1382.  Wyclif, Phil. ii. 10. That in the name of Ihesu ech kne be bowid. Ibid., 1 Kings xix. 18. Seuen thousand of men of whom the knees ben not bowid before Baal.

1580.  Baret, Alv., B 1067. To make courtesie or to bowe the knee.

1875.  B. Taylor, Faust, II. II. iii. 142. To Ops and Rhea have I bowed the knee.

  † 10.  To cause to turn in a given direction; to incline, turn, direct; fig. to incline or influence (the mind). Obs.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 17588. His blissing to þaa men he buus.

c. 1380.  Wyclif, Sel. Wks., III. 422. As þof þei wolde bowe him [God] as maysters of his conseile.

c. 1449.  Pecock, Repr., I. i. 7. He or sche ouȝte bowe awey her heering, her reeding and her vndirstonding.

1513.  Douglas, Æneis, XIII. vi. 106. All our prayeris and requestis kynd Mycht nowder bow that dowr mannis mynd.

1651.  Hewson, Lett., in Proc. Parliament, No. 92. 1413. The Lord God hath abundantly bowed their hearts and affections … to the Parliament.

1705.  Penn, in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem., X. 17. You may … bow him to better manners and gain him.

  ¶ In to bow the ear, the eye, there appears to be a mixture of the notion of ‘direct or turn with attention,’ and of ‘bend the head downwards.’ See senses 10 and 11.

c. 1230.  Hali Meid., 3. Bihald & buh þin eare.

1535.  Coverdale, Ps. xxx[i]. 2. Bowe downe thine eare to me, make haist to delyuer me.

1578.  Gude & Godlie Ballates, Lament. Sinner, i. Bowing doun Thy heavenly eye.

1579.  Spenser, Sheph. Cal., Jan., 16. Bowe your eares vnto my dolefull dittie.

1611.  Bible, Ps. lxxxvi. 1. Bow downe thine eare, O LORD, heare me.

  11.  To bend (anything) downwards; to incline, to lower (often in fig. expressions).

c. 1205.  Lay., 15740. Þe nunne beh hire hæfde adun.

[a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 130. Ase brid vleoinde buhð þet heaued lowe (perh. this = byhð, from BEY v.).]

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 11690. Yeit it [þe tre] boghud dun ilk bogh.

1382.  Wyclif, Isa. xxxi. 3. The Lord shal boowen [1388 bowe doun] his hond.

1601.  Shaks., All’s Well, I. ii. 43. And bow’d his eminent top to their low rankes.

1747.  Hervey, Medit. & Contempl. (1818), 192. Wave, ye stately Cedars … wave your branching heads to Him who meekly bowed his own on the accursed tree.

1842.  Tennyson, Dora, 103. She bowed down her head, Remembering the day when first she came.

1871.  Freeman, Norm. Conq. (1876), IV. xvii. 95. Lanfranc refused to bow his shoulders to such a burden.

  b.  fig. To bend (a thing) in submission.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 15291. Þis suete iesu … þat bued sua his lauerd-hede to buxumnes of therll.

c. 1440.  Hylton, Scala Perf. (1494), II. xvi. Yf he woll bowe his wyll to God.

  12.  To cause to stoop, to crush (as a load does).

1671.  Milton, Samson, 698. With sickness and disease thou bow’st them down.

1725.  Pope, Odyss., XI. 239. And bow his age with sorrow to the tomb.

1738.  Wesley, Psalms (1765), lvii. To Thee let all my Foes submit, Who hunt and bow my Spirit down.

1855.  Macaulay, Hist. Eng., IV. 97. The load which had bowed down his body and mind.