Link Centre Dictionary

kowtow

kow·tow

UK/ˈkaʊˌtaʊ/ US/ˈkoʊˈtoʊ/ rare
noun (1) verb (2)

noun

1.

a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission

Synonyms

verb

1.

bend the knees and bow in a servile manner

Synonyms
2.

try to gain favor by cringing or flattering

  • “He is always kowtowing to his boss”
Synonyms

Origin

From either Cantonese 叩頭 /叩头 (kau³ tau⁴) or Mandarin 叩頭 /叩头 (kòutóu). Literally, “knock head”.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.