bower

¹

[bou-er]

noun

1. a leafy shelter or recess; arbor.

2. a rustic dwelling; cottage.

3. a lady's boudoir in a medieval castle.

verb (used with object)

1. to enclose in or as in a bower; embower.

bower

²

[bou-er]

noun

Nautical.

1. an anchor carried at a ship's bow.

bower

³

[bou-er]

noun

1. a person or thing that bows or bends.

bower

⁴

[boh-er]

noun

Music.

1. a musician, as a violinist, who performs with a bow on a stringed instrument.

bower

¹

/ ˈbaʊə /

noun

1. a shady leafy shelter or recess, as in a wood or garden; arbour

2. literary,  a lady's bedroom or apartments, esp in a medieval castle; boudoir

3. literary,  a country cottage, esp one regarded as charming or picturesque

bower

²

/ ˈbaʊə /

noun

1. nautical a vessel's bow anchor

bower

³

/ ˈbaʊə /

noun

1. a jack in euchre and similar card games

Other Word Forms

• bowerlike adjective
• bowery adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bower¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English bour, bur, bure “dwelling, shelter, bower,” Old English būr “dwelling, shelter, chamber”; cognate with Old Norse būr “pantry, storehouse,” German Bauer “cage, birdcage”; akin to neighbor

Origin of bower²

First recorded in 1645–55; bow ³ + -er ¹

Origin of bower³

First recorded in 1590–1600; bow ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of bower⁴

First recorded in 1650–70; bow ², -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of bower¹

Old English būr dwelling; related to Old Norse būr pantry, Old High German būr dwelling

Origin of bower²

C18: from _bow ³ + _-er ¹

Origin of bower³

C19: from German Bauer peasant, jack (in cards)

Example Sentences

A bower of roses, fragrant herbs and bodacious blooms might set one gardener’s heart aflutter, while another finds the sweet spot among spiky agaves, exotic palms or a bountiful row of summer raspberries.

From Seattle Times

If you have been there for a festive brunch on the graceful patio with its bowers of bougainvillea, you may understand.

From Los Angeles Times

This wooded bower was where Yakov had died, but not where his night had begun.

From Literature

Today, a cafe occupies part of the ground floor, its tables and chairs distributed under a leafy bower on the veranda.

From New York Times

As it did in Robert Longbottom’s 2019 production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical “Into the Woods,” which coincidentally also follows a group of rowdy, mixed-up characters into a supernatural bower.

From Los Angeles Times