bowen

See also: Bowen, bōwén, and bówén

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English būgan, from Proto-West Germanic *beugan.

Pronunciation

Verb

bowen (third-person singular simple present boweth, present participle bowende, bowynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle bowed)

  1. To bend, curve, or cause to bend:
    1. To bow or kneel; to bend reverently.
      • a. 1333, “Poem 15: Eterne rex altissime; Fol. 209v-210r”, in William Herebert, transl., Opera (British Library MS. Add. 46919)‎[1], Hereford; republished as The Works of William Herebert, OFM (Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse), [Ann Arbor]: University of Michigan, a. 2018:
        Vor hœ́uene and œ́rþe and helle, and al þat þrinne bœ́n, / To þé shullen bouwen hœm and bénden hœre knœ́n.
        Since heaven, earth, and hell, and everything that's in them, / shall bow before You and bend their knees.
    2. To turn; to move in response to.
    3. (figurative) To adjust in response to.
  2. To fall, lower, or drop:
    1. (figurative) To end or cause to end.
  3. To submit; to demonstrate obedience.
  4. (poetic) To move or go.

Conjugation

Conjugation of bowen (strong class 2 or weak in -ed)
infinitive (to) bowen, bowe
present tense past tense
1st-person singular bowe beigh, bowed
2nd-person singular bowest bowe1, bowedest
3rd-person singular boweth beigh, bowed
subjunctive singular bowe bowe2, bowed2
imperative singular —
plural3 bowen, bowe bowen, bowe, boweden, bowede
imperative plural boweth, bowe —
participles bowynge, bowende bowen, bowe, bowed, ybowe

1 Later replaced by the 1st-/3rd-person singular or beighest.
2 Later replaced by the indicative.
3 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

  • English: bow
  • Middle Scots: bow

References

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