kowtow: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

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Word of the Day for Friday, June 11, 2010 kowtow \KOU-TOU\, verb: 1. To act in a subservient manner. 2. To kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in expression of deep respect, worship, or submission, as formerly done in China. noun: 1. An act of servile deference. The administration would kowtow to student activists by agreeing to meet with them and behave as if their demands merited serious consideration. -- Debra J. Saunders, "Starving for attention at UC Berkeley", SFGate, May 2010 She didn't kowtow to color, she didn't kowtow to power, she didn't kowtow to men. She was very, very strong. -- Naila Francis, "Raw & Revealing", The Intelligencer, May 2010 Kowtow is from the Mandarin k'o-t'ou, the custom of touching the ground with the forehead to show respect or submission, literally "knock the head." Read the full entry | See synonyms | Comment on today's word | Suggest tomorrow's word Yesterday's word | Previous words | Help
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