kowtow

C2+ Topic:Senses & Perception

US /ˈkaʊˈtaʊ/ UK /ˌkaʊˈtaʊ/ See IPA manual

verb noun

Meanings

1

verb
to act with excessive deference; to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground

He refused to kowtow to the demands of the overbearing client.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to act with excessive... grovel fawn cringe toady bowgenuflecttruckle

Opposites

defy resiststand up to

Etymology

From Chinese (Mandarin) kòutóu, from kòu ('to knock, bump') + tóu ('head'), referring to the act of kneeling and touching the forehead to the ground in submission.

kòu Chinese tóu Chinese

View etymology graph ->

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Senses & Perception

# kowtow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** ˈkaʊˈtaʊ
**IPA (UK):** ˌkaʊˈtaʊ

## Meanings
1. to act with excessive deference; to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground

## Examples
- He refused to kowtow to the demands of the overbearing client.

## Synonyms
- grovel
- fawn
- cringe
- toady
- bow
- genuflect
- truckle

## Antonyms
- defy
- resist
- stand up to

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: kòu
- Root: tóu

## Etymology
From Chinese (Mandarin) kòutóu, from kòu ('to knock, bump') + tóu ('head'), referring to the act of kneeling and touching the forehead to the ground in submission.

## AI Etymology
Kowtow comes from Chinese (Mandarin) kòutóu, from kòu ('to knock, bump') + tóu ('head'), referring to the act of kneeling and touching the forehead to the ground in submission. The etymological trail includes Chinese kòu, Chinese tóu. Its current verb use means "to act with excessive deference; to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground".

## Topics
- Senses & Perception

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kowtow

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