bow
part of speech
noun (bow, bows); verb (bow, bows, bowed, bowing)
meaning for a pupil
1) A bow (rhymes with «go») is a knot with two loops made from ribbon or laces. tree →
2) A bow (rhymes with «go») is also a bent stick with a string for shooting arrows, or a stick with hairs for playing the violin. tree →
3) To bow (rhymes with «cow») is to bend your head or body forward to say thank you or show respect. tree →
4) The bow (rhymes with «cow») is the front part of a ship. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In the Torah, to bow or bow down is to bend low or fall on the face before someone, to show respect, thanks or submission, or to worship. In the later books "the bow" is also the weapon for shooting arrows. Interpretation: Tradition teaches that bowing is for honoring people, as Abraham did, but worship by bowing belongs to God alone; the Torah forbids bowing to idols. Mordecai's refusal to bow to Haman is read as refusing to give a person the honor due only to God. In Samuel, David teaches Judah "the bow," a song or lesson about the weapon. In the primary lessons: In school maths: a thing made from ribbon — ribbon per bow; how many bows from a length of ribbon. In everyday life: tying shoelaces in a bow, a bow on a present, bowing at the end of a show. In stories: archers with bows and arrows, like Robin Hood. Phrases: «tie a bow», «bow and arrow», «take a bow».
examples
- And Israel bowed down upon the bed's head. (Torah GEN.47.31, JPS 1917) tree →
- And Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. (Torah GEN.23.12, JPS 1917) tree →
- Let peoples serve thee, and nations bow down to thee. (Torah GEN.27.29, JPS 1917) tree →
- And Bath-sheba bowed, and prostrated herself unto the king. (Prophets 1KI.1.16, JPS 1917) tree →
- But Mordecai bowed not down, nor prostrated himself before him. (Writings EST.3.2, JPS 1917) tree →
- and said — To teach the sons of Judah the bow. (Prophets 2SA.1.18, JPS 1917) tree →
- Each bow needs 2 feet of ribbon. tree →
- She made 6 bows. tree →
- How many bows from 15 feet of ribbon? tree →
- The actors bow at the end. tree →
- Can you tie your shoelaces in a bow? tree →
- Robin Hood was great with a bow and arrow. tree →
- The violinist moved her bow across the strings. tree →
- Waves crashed over the bow of the ship. tree →
- The arrow sprang from the bow! tree →
note
Two sounds, two meanings: «bow» like «go» (ribbon, weapon, violin) and «bow» like «cow» (bending, front of a ship). Maths: ribbon ÷ ribbon per bow gives how many bows. Trap: the leftover ribbon is not enough for one more bow, so drop the remainder.
In the corpora
- I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth.
- And it shall come to pass, when I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow is seen in the cloud,
- And Abraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.
- And Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.
- And the man bowed his head, and prostrated himself before the LORD.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «bow» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.