bow low, kneel and touch one's forehead to the ground; grovel, act in a servile manner
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Kowtowing Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries
do as someone wishes
Marie won't kowtow to anyone. She's proud and independent.
Marie won't kowtow to anyone. She's proud and independent.
Noun
1. a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission
(synonym) kotow
(hypernym) bow, bowing, obeisance
(derivation) fawn, toady, truckle, bootlick, kotow, suck up
Verb
1. bend the knees and bow in a servile manner
(synonym) scrape, genuflect
(hypernym) bow
(derivation) kotow
2. try to gain favor by cringing or flattering; "He is always kowtowing to his boss"
(synonym) fawn, toady, truckle, bootlick, kotow, suck up
(hypernym) flatter, blandish
(hyponym) curry favor, curry favour, court favor, court favour
(derivation) kotow
Kowtowing Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
Kowtow, which is borrowed from kòu tóu in Mandarin Chinese, is the act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. An alternative Chinese term is ketou, however the meaning is somewhat altered: kòu has the general meaning of 'knock', whereas ke has the general meaning of "touch upon (a surface)", tóu meaning head.
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