Show Search Results Show BrowseScottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
Abbreviations Cite this entry
About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
BOWSOME, adj. “Willing, compliant” (w.Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.). [′bʌusəm]Ib.:
A bowsome lad.
[O.Sc. bowsum, bowsome, bousum, busume (c.1375), etc., ready to obey, obedient, compliant (D.O.S.T.); n.Mid.Eng. bowsum, -som, bousum, variants of bughsome, buȝsom, early Mid.Eng. buhsum (whence also Mid.Eng. buxum), from O.E. būgan, to bend. The ow forms prob. derive from the ablaut variant of būgan, viz. bogen (pa.p.) and boga, a bend.]
