bower

¹ American  

[bou-er] / ˈbaʊ ər /

noun

1. a leafy shelter or recess; arbor.

2. a rustic dwelling; cottage.

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

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verb (used with object)

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

bower ² American  

[bou-er] / ˈbaʊ ər /

noun

Nautical.

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

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bower ³ American  

[bou-er] / ˈbaʊ ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that bows or bends.

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bower ⁴ American  

[boh-er] / ˈboʊ ər /

noun

Music.

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

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bower ¹ British  

/ 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

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bower ² British  

/ ˈbaʊə /

noun

1. nautical a vessel's bow anchor

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bower ³ British  

/ ˈbaʊə /

noun

1. a jack in euchre and similar card games

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Other Word Forms

• bowerlike adjective
• bowery adjective

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

Orchards, wildernesses and bowers abound in her fiction, where her heroines contemplate curated views or scamper across fields and over stiles.

From The Wall Street Journal

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