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Definition of Kowtow
1. Verb. Bend the knees and bow in a servile manner.
Generic synonyms: Bow
Derivative terms: Genuflection, Genuflexion, Scrape, Scraping
2. Noun. A former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission.
3. Verb. Try to gain favor by cringing or flattering. "Sam and Sue kowtow"; "He is always kowtowing to his boss"
Generic synonyms: Blandish, Flatter
Specialized synonyms: Court Favor, Court Favour, Curry Favor, Curry Favour
Derivative terms: Bootlicker, Fawner, Kotow, Toady, Truckler, Truckling
Definition of Kowtow
1. n. & v. i. The same as Kotow.
Definition of Kowtow
1. Verb. (intransitive) To kneel and bow low enough to touch one’s forehead to the ground. ¹
2. Verb. (intransitive) To bow very deeply. ¹
3. Verb. (intransitive figuratively) To act in a very submissive manner. ¹
4. Noun. The act of kowtowing. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Kowtow
1. to behave in a servile manner [v -ED, -ING, -S]
Lexicographical Neighbors of Kowtow
Literary usage of Kowtow
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. China, the Yellow Peril at War with the World: A History of the Chinese by James Martin Miller (1900)
"Battles with Pirates—The Embassy of Lord Amherst—Question of the kowtow—Kea-King
Dies and is Succeeded by Taou-Kuang—Local Insurrections Throughout the ..."
2. China, Ancient and Modern: A History of the Chinese Empire from the Dawn of by James Martin Miller (1900)
"Battles with Pirates—The Embassy of Lord Amherst—Question of the kowtow—Kea-King
Dies and is Succeeded by Taon-Kuang—Local Insurrections Throughout the ..."
3. The Life of Sir Halliday Macartney, K. C. M. G.: Commander of Li Hung Chang by Demetrius Charles de Kavanagh Boulger, James Crichton-Browne (1908)
"... proposed execution—A clever impostor—The Opium Question —Stories against the
Minister—Queen Victoria receives Madame Kwoh— The kowtow ceremonial—Scene ..."
4. A Word a Day Intermediate by Evan-Moor Educational Publishers, Stephanie Wright, Sarita Chavez Silverman, Evan-Moor Corporation (2002)
"kowtow verb 1. to show respect or unquestioning obedience 2. in traditional China,
a bow from a kneeling position where the forehead touches the ground as a ..."
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