Unbowed is from un- ('not') + bowed, past participle of bow ('to bend down, submit'), from Old English bugan ('to bend, stoop, submit'), from Proto-Germanic *beugan, from Proto-Indo-European *bheugh- ('to bend'). Important recorded forms include un- (Old English), bugan (Old English), and *bheugh- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the un- element marks negation, reversal, removal, or deprivation, while the base supplies the action, quality, or state being denied or undone. The modern sense is largely compositional, with the historical elements narrowing into a stable English lexical item. In current use it covers not subdued or defeated; remaining proud and defiant. The wider family includes related words such as bow, bowed, and unbend.