bowing

Thân thiện

The violinist practices her bowing technique.

Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Showing an excessively deferential manner: Describes behavior that is overly respectful, submissive, or polite, often to the point of seeming insincere or exaggerated.

2. Noun:

   • Managing the bow in playing a stringed instrument: The technique, style, or act of using a bow to play a violin, cello, or similar instrument.
   • Bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting: The physical act of bowing, which is a gesture involving a forward inclination of the upper body, head, or knee to express respect, obedience, apology, or a formal greeting.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • His bowing manner towards the boss made his colleagues uncomfortable.
  • She offered a bowing apology, her voice filled with excessive deference.

• Noun (Musical Technique):

  • The cellist's smooth bowing produced a beautiful, sustained tone.
  • Good bowing is essential for controlling the volume and expression of the music.

• Noun (Gesture):

  • The traditional greeting involves a deep bowing from the waist.
  • He performed a bowing of his head in silent acknowledgment of his mistake.

Advanced Usage

• "In a bowing scrape": An idiom describing an excessively humble or servile bow, often combined with a scraping motion of the foot. It implies exaggerated, perhaps obsequious, respect.
  • The butler greeted the duke with a bowing scrape.

Variants and Related Words

• Bow (verb/noun): The root word. As a verb: to perform the act of bowing. As a noun: the gesture itself or the tool for playing a stringed instrument.

  • The actors will bow at the end of the performance.
  • He tightened the hair on his violin bow.

• Bowed (adjective): Bent or curved; can describe posture (e.g., a bowed head) or an object's shape.

  • She sat with bowed head, lost in thought.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Deferential, obsequious, servile, fawning, submissive.
• Noun (Gesture): Obeisance, curtsy (specifically for women), genuflection (bending the knee, often in worship).

Related Phrases

• Bowing out: Withdrawing or resigning from a position or activity. (Note: This is a phrasal verb based on "bow," not directly on "bowing").
  • After the scandal, the minister is bowing out of politics.

Related Idioms

• Bowing and scraping: Behaving in an excessively deferential and servile way.
  • I'm tired of all the bowing and scraping you have to do in that corporate culture.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. showing an excessively deferential manner

Noun

1. managing the bow in playing a stringed instrument
   • the violinist's bowing was excellent
2. bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting

Từ đồng nghĩa

• bowed
• bow
• obeisance