different between bow vs deflex

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English bowe, bo?e, from Old English boga, from Proto-West Germanic *bog?, from Proto-Germanic *bugô. Cognate with West Frisian boge, Dutch boog, German Bogen, Danish bue, Norwegian boge, bue, Swedish båge.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: b?, IPA^(key): /b??/
• (US) enPR: b?, IPA^(key): /bo?/
• Rhymes: -??
• Homophone: beau

Noun

bow (plural bows)

1. A weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string, used for shooting arrows.
2. A curved bend in a rod or planar surface, or in a linear formation such as a river (see oxbow).
3. A rod with horsehair (or an artificial substitute) stretched between the ends, used for playing various stringed musical instruments.
4. A stringed instrument (chordophone), consisting of a stick with a single taut cord stretched between the ends, most often played by plucking.
5. A type of knot with two loops, used to tie together two cords such as shoelaces or apron strings, and frequently used as decoration, such as in gift-wrapping.
6. Anything bent or curved, such as a rainbow.

   • I do set my bow in the cloud.

7. The U-shaped piece which goes around the neck of an ox and fastens it to the yoke.
8. Either of the arms of a pair of spectacles, running from the side of the lens to behind the wearer's ear.
9. Any instrument consisting of an elastic rod, with ends connected by a string, employed for giving reciprocating motion to a drill, or for preparing and arranging hair, fur, etc., used by hatters.
10. (nautical) A crude sort of quadrant formerly used for taking the sun's altitude at sea.
11. (saddlery) Two pieces of wood which form the arched forward part of a saddletree.
12. The part of a key that is not inserted into the lock and that is used to turn the key.

    Coordinate term: blade

Synonyms

• (bow-shaped bend): arc, bend, curve
• (tool for playing stringed instruments): fiddlestick
• (a type of stringed instrument): musical bow

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

bow (third-person singular simple present bows, present participle bowing, simple past and past participle bowed)

1. To play music on (a stringed) instrument using a bow.

   The musician bowed his violin expertly.

2. (intransitive) To become bent or curved.

   The shelf bowed under the weight of the books.
3. (transitive) To make something bend or curve.
   • 1843, William H. Prescott, The History of the Conquest of Mexico

     The whole nation […] bowed their necks to the worst kind of tyranny.

4. (transitive, figuratively) To exercise powerful or controlling influence over; to bend, figuratively; to turn; to incline.
   • 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Atheism

     Adversities do more bow men's minds to religion.

   • not to bow and bias their opinions

Derived terms

• bower
• diddley bower

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English bowen, buwen, bu?en, from Old English b?gan, from Proto-West Germanic *beugan, from Proto-Germanic *beugan?, from Proto-Indo-European *b??g?- (“to bend”). Cognate with Dutch buigen, German biegen, Danish bue.

Pronunciation

• enPR: bou, IPA^(key): /ba?/
• Rhymes: -a?
• Homophone: bough

Verb

bow (third-person singular simple present bows, present participle bowing, simple past and past participle bowed)

1. (intransitive) To bend oneself as a gesture of respect or deference.
   • 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

     The soldier now blew upon a green whistle, and at once a young girl, dressed in a pretty green silk gown, entered the room. She had lovely green hair and green eyes, and she bowed low before Dorothy as she said, "Follow me and I will show you your room."

2. (transitive and intransitive) To debut.
   • 2010 (publication date), Kara Krekeler, "Rebuilding the opera house", West End Word, volume 39, number 26, December 22, 2010 – January 11, 2011, page 1:

     SCP recently announced that How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical will bow on the newly renovated stage next December.

3. (intransitive) To defer (to something).

4. (transitive) To give a direction, indication, or command to by bowing.

Hypernyms

• (gesture): gesture; congee, congé, conge

Derived terms

Related terms

• buxom

Translations

Noun

bow (plural bows)

1. A gesture, usually showing respect, made by inclining the head or bending forward at the waist; a reverence

   He made a polite bow as he entered the room.

Hypernyms

• (gesture): gesture; congee, congé, conge

Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English bowe, bowgh, a borrowing from Middle Low German bôch and/or Middle Dutch boech, from Proto-Germanic *b?guz, from Proto-Indo-European *b?eh???us (“arm”). Cognate with Dutch boeg (“bow”), Danish bov (“bow”), Swedish bog (“bow”). Doublet of bough.

Pronunciation

• enPR: bou, IPA^(key): /ba?/
• Rhymes: -a?
• Homophone: bough

Noun

bow (plural bows)

1. (nautical) The front of a boat or ship.
2. (rowing) The rower that sits in the seat closest to the bow of the boat.

Synonyms

• (of a ship): prow

Antonyms

• (of a ship): poop, stern

Derived terms

• bow rudder
• bow shock
• shot across the bow, shot across the bows

Usage notes

• Often used in the plural, the ship being considered to have starboard and port bows, meeting at the stern.

Translations

Etymology 4

Noun

bow (plural bows)

1. (obsolete) Alternative spelling of bough

   • Ariell:

     Where the Bee ?ucks, there ?uck I,

     In a Cowslips bell, I lie,

     There I cowch when Owles doe crie,

     On the Batts backe I doe flie

     ? after Sommer merrily.

     Merrily, merrily, ?hall I liue now

     Vnder the blo??om that hangs on the Bow.

See also

• coll'arco
• curtsy
• kowtow
• Wikipedia article on bows (weapons)
• Wikipedia article on bows used to play string instruments
• Wikipedia article on bows (the knots)
• Wikipedia article on musical bows
• Wikipedia article on bows, the gestures of respect
• Wikipedia article on the bows of ships
• Bow in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• WBO

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From Dutch bouwen (“to build”).

Verb

bow

1. to build
2. (figuratively, with tapu) to trust, to depend on

Vilamovian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bo?f/

Noun

b?w f (plural bowa)

1. woman
2. wife

English

Verb

deflex (third-person singular simple present deflexes, present participle deflexing, simple past and past participle deflexed)

1. (zoology, botany) To bend down.

Adjective

deflex (not comparable)

1. (archery, of a bow) Having the arms curved or curled at the base so as to turn towards the archer when unstrung, reducing the strain on the limbs and also the energy stored by the weapon.

Anagrams

• flexed