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bouchée
bouclé
boudin
boudoir
bouffant
bougainvillaea
Bougainville
bougainvillea
bough
bought
bought deal
boughten
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bouillabaisse
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bough
bough [ bow ] (plural boughs)


noun 
Definition:
 
large branch: a large main branch of a tree, from which smaller branches grow
[ Old English bōg "bough, shoulder" < Indo-European, "arm"]

Spelling Note

bough or bow? Do not confuse the spelling of bough and bow, which sound similar. Bough is only used as a noun, denoting a branch of a tree. The word bow (rhyming with "cow") can be used as a noun, denoting the front part of a boat or ship, or as a verb, meaning "bend over": I bowed my head in shame.The branches were bowed down with fruit.

Cultural Note

The Golden Bough, a book (1890) by the British anthropologist Sir James George Frazer. It is an encyclopedic, rationalistic survey of mythology and religion that suggests a strong connection between belief in magic and religious faith. Hugely influential in its time, it notably provided T. S. Eliot with several striking images for his poem The Waste Land (1922).
Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
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