125: bow Apr 12, 2015

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English being the seemingly nonsensical language it is, has quite a number of homonyms, with the same spelling but different pronunciations. There is a reason for words such as 'bow' (as in archery) and 'bow' (as in bend the upper-body respectfully), having the same spellings. It is because they come from the same origin-word, 'būgan', which meant "to bend", as in the curved wood of a bow, or a bend at the hip.

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