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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BOW, v.³ See also Boo, v.² [bʌu Sc., but s.Sc. + bɔu, see P.L.D. §§ 101, 106]

1. To assume a bent or crooked shape (Sh., Ork., Bnff., Ags., Edb., Gsw., Ayr. 2000s). Also fig. Given in N.E.D. as obs. except dial. Gen.Sc.Bnff. 1719 Annals Bnff. (ed. Cramond 1891) I. 191:
Dean of Guild is ordered to make one of strong tymber that will not bend nor bow.ne.Sc. 1719 Alistair and Henrietta Tayler Jacobites of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire in the Forty-Five (1928) 210:
Before he opened the door, the Bolt of the Lock was bowed.Per. c.1800 Lady Nairne Songs (ed. Rogers 1905) 174:
His legs they are bow'd.Edb. 1828 D. M. Moir Mansie Wauch (1839) xviii.:
Duncan was not so bowed in the intellect as ye imagine.Ayr. 1786 Burns Halloween iv.:
An' pow't, for want o' better shift, A runt was like a sow-tail, Sae bow't that night.

ppl.adj. bow'd, bowed, bowt, bowyt, crooked, bent.Sc. 1887 Jam.⁶, s.v. bowyt:
A bowt saxpence.Edb. 1851 A. Maclagan Sk. from Nature 140:
Yon auld bowed pair o' rusty tangs.central Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.:
Bow'd. Having bandy legs.

2. “To turn down (the eyelid), hence, to close (the eye)” (Abd.⁹, Slg.³, Arg.¹, Ayr.⁸ 1935).Sc. 1826 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) I. 238–239:
And aften hae I risen without ever having bowed an ee.wm.Sc. 1835 Laird of Logan I. 136:
I'm sure he hasna bowed an e'e this twa nights wi't.

3. Combs.: (1) bowbackit, bow't backet, bent in the back; cf. Boo, v.², 4 (1); (2) bowd-leggit, having bandy legs; (3) bow-hocht, -hough'd, bow-hyoched, “bent in the legs” (Mry.¹ 1925), “bandy-legged” (Bnff.⁷ 1925; Ags.¹, Fif.¹⁰ 1935); (4) bow-ribbit, bent or curved in the ribs or spars.(1) Sc. 1896 A. Cheviot Proverbs 416:
Ye'll ne'er grow bowbackit bearing your friends.Bnff. 1856 J. Collie Poems and Lyrics 112; Bnff.² 1935:
I think ye're cracket fairly, To say that ye would marry Bob, A puir bow't backet carlie.(2) Ags.(D) 1894 J. B. Salmond My Man Sandy (1899) viii.:
He's a snod bit stockie — a little beld, an' bowd-leggit, an' wants a thoom.(3) Bch.(D) 1930 P. Giles in Abd. Univ. Rev. (March) 105:
Ye'll be mair concern't i' the noo' 'at the deems 'ull think ye bow-hocht.Abd. 1832–1846 P. Buchan in Whistle-Binkie (2nd Series 1842) 16:
She was bow-hough'd and humph-back'd, twined like a stair.Abd. 1981 Jack Webster A Grain of Truth (1988) 48:
...or some lurid tale of 'yon bow-hyoched buggerick with the hubber an' the piner stirkies'. He could never remember the names but the description soon refreshed the listener's memory.Ayr. 1792 Burns Willie Wastle (Cent. ed.) iii.:
She's bow-hough'd, she's hem-shin'd, Ae limpin leg a hand-breed shorter.(4) Abd. 1879 G. Macdonald Sir Gibbie xxxii.; Abd.² 1935:
It's [an auld umbrella] auld an' casten an' bow-ribbit, it's true.