kowtow
part of speech
verb (kowtow, kowtows, kowtowed, kowtowing); noun (a kowtow)
meaning for a pupil
1) To kowtow is to kneel and touch the ground with your forehead to show deep respect, as people once did before the Emperor of China. tree →
2) (informal) To kowtow to someone is to obey them too much and try too hard to please them. tree →
3) A kowtow is this deep kneeling bow. tree →
sense in the lessons
In history about imperial China it is a real bow; in everyday talk it is a criticism: someone «kowtows to» the boss, the bully or the rich, so the reader learns that person is not standing up for themselves. Phrase: kowtow to someone.
examples
- Visitors had to kowtow before the emperor. tree →
- A British ambassador refused to kowtow in 1793. tree →
- He kowtows to the team captain all the time. tree →
- Don't kowtow to bullies; tell a teacher. tree →
- The servant made a low kowtow. tree →
- I won't kowtow just because she is popular. tree →
- The king expected everyone to kowtow to him. tree →
note
Comes from Chinese «kētóu», meaning «knock head». Past: kowtowed. In the second sense it is negative and a little rude about the person who kowtows. Usually followed by «to».
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «kowtow» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.