English
bow
Bow comes from Old English boga ‘bow (weapon)’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- ‘to bend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰewgʰ-‘to bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰugʰ-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bugô‘bow (weapon)’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150boga‘bow (weapon)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bowe
- Englishearliest quotation 1611bow
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰewgʰ-‘to bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰugʰ-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bugô‘bow (weapon)’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150boga‘bow (weapon)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bowe
- Englishearliest quotation 1611bow
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “I do set my bow in the cloud.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- ‘to bend’
buy, bought, bee, badge, bail, bout, bagel, bight, 3 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰugʰ-
through Proto-Germanic *bugô ‘bow (weapon)’
Another origin of bow
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰewgʰ-‘to bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*beuganą‘to bend, bow’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*beugan‘to bend, become bent’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150būgan‘to bend’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bowen‘to bow or kneel’
- Englishtodaybow
Another origin of bow
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂ǵʰus‘arm’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bōguz‘upper arm’reconstructed
- Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600bôchuncertain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bowe
- Englishtodaybow
Today it means
noun A weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string, used for shooting arrows.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.