Bow

Pronunciation: /boʊ/

Definitions of bow

noun a weapon for shooting arrows, typically made of a curved piece of wood whose ends are joined by a taut string

Example Sentences

A1 She tied a bow on top of the gift.

A2 The little girl wore a bow in her hair.

B1 The archer pulled back the bow and aimed at the target.

B2 The violinist played a beautiful melody with her bow.

C1 The king greeted his subjects with a regal bow.

C2 The ribbon was tied in a perfect bow by the expert gift wrapper.

verb to play a stringed instrument with a bow

Example Sentences

A1 The little girl learned to bow before entering the dojo.

A2 The waiter will bow to show respect to the customers.

B1 In Japan, it is customary to bow when greeting someone.

B2 The actor took a deep bow after receiving a standing ovation.

C1 The diplomat was expected to bow to the customs of the host country.

C2 The queen gracefully bowed to acknowledge the crowd's applause.

Examples of bow in a Sentence

formal The violinist took a bow after his performance.

informal She tied a bow around the gift box.

slang I'm going to bow out of this conversation.

figurative He had to bow to pressure from his colleagues.

Grammatical Forms of bow

• past tense: bowed
• plural: bows
• comparative: bower
• superlative: bowest
• present tense: bow
• future tense: will bow
• perfect tense: have bowed
• continuous tense: is bowing
• singular: bow
• positive degree: bow
• infinitive: to bow
• gerund: bowing
• participle: bowing

Origin and Evolution of bow

First Known Use: 1250 year

Language of Origin: Old English

Story behind the word: The word 'bow' originated from Old English 'boga' which was derived from Proto-Germanic 'bugon'.

Evolution of the word: Initially used to refer to a curved weapon for shooting arrows, the meaning of 'bow' evolved to also include a gesture of respect or greeting, as well as the curved shape of something like a rainbow or a bow of a ship.