bough

CEFRC2

/ˈbaʊ̯/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A large branch of a tree.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A gallows.

Examples

  • Look at the monkey on that bough.

  • The bough bent under the weight of the snow.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈbæʊ̯/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A surname.

  2. A tree-branch, usually a primary one directly attached to the trunk.

More examples

In context

  • When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. (Rock-a-bye Baby)

  • When thou beateſt thine oliue tree thou shalt not goe ouer the boughes againe: it shall be for the ſtranger, for the fatherleſſe, and for the widow.

  • Where the Bee ſucks, there ſuck I, / In a Cowſlips bell, I lie, / There I cowch when Owles doe crie, / On the Batts backe I doe flie / after Sommer merrily. / Merrily, merrily, ſhall I liue now / Vnder the bloſſom that hangs on the Bow.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

A heavy blank of the oak tree broke off and crashed onto the car during the storm.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

PIE word *bʰeh₂ǵʰús From Middle English bough (“branch of a bush or tree, especially a main branch; limb of an animal or person; something resembling a branch (such as a plant root or branch of a nerve); (figuratively) Christian cross; descendant, offspring”) [and other forms], from Old English bōg, bōh (“tree bough or branch; arm; shoulder”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōgu, from Proto-Germanic *bōguz (“shoulder; upper arm”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵʰús (“arm”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Bouch, West Frisian boech, Dutch boeg, German Low German Boog, German Bug, Danish bov, Icelandic bógur, and distantly with Ancient Greek πῆχυς (pêkhus, “forearm, cubit, etc.”). Doublet of bow (...