bowe

English

Noun

bowe (plural bowes)

1. Obsolete spelling of bow.

Verb

bowe (third-person singular simple present bowes, present participle bowing, simple past and past participle bowed)

1. Obsolete spelling of bow.
   • c. 1691, John Aubrey, Naturall Historie of Wiltshire:

     We have a custome, that when one sneezes, every one els putts off his hatt, and bowes, and cries God bless ye Sir.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• boue, boghe, boȝe

Etymology

From Old English boga, from Proto-West Germanic *bogō, in turn from Proto-Germanic *bugô.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔu̯(ə)/

Noun

bowe (plural bowes or bowen)

1. bow
2. bowman

Derived terms

• elbowe
• reynbowe
• sadel-bowe

Descendants

• English: bow
• Scots: bow
• → Middle Welsh: bwa
  • Welsh: bwa

References

• “boue, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.