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bow-wow. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
bow-wow, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Onomatopoeic.
Interjection
bow-wow
- Representing the sound of a dog barking.
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 5, column 1:Harke, harke, bowgh wawgh: the watch-Dogges barke, bowgh-wawgh.
1593, Gabriel Harvey, Pierces Supererogation: Or A New Prayse of the Old Asse, London: Iohn Wolfe, →OCLC; republished as John Payne Collier, editor, Pierces Supererogation: Or A New Prayse of the Old Asse. A Preparative to Certaine Larger Discourses, Intituled Nashes S. Fame (Miscellaneous Tracts. Temp. Eliz. & Jac. I; no. 8), ,
1870],
→OCLC,
page 181:
She […] hath ſtiled him with an immortall penne, the bawewawe of ſchollars, the tutt of gentlemen, the tee-heegh of gentlewomen, the phy of citizens, the blurt of Courtiers, the poogh of good letters, the faph of good manners, and the whoop-hooe of good boyes in London ſtreetes.
Translations
sound of a dog barking
- Catalan: bub-bub (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 汪汪 (zh) (wāngwāng)
- Danish: vov-vov, vov (da)
- Esperanto: boj (eo)
- Finnish: hau (fi), hau hau, vuh
- French: mouarf, ouah ouah
- German: wau wau
- Greek: γαβ (el) (gav)
- Hungarian: vau-vau (hu)
- Italian: bau bau
- Japanese: ワンワン (wanwan)
- Kazakh: арс-арс (ars-ars), арс-ұрс (ars-ūrs)
- Khmer: វ៉េសវ៉ូស (km) (veeh)
- Korean: 멍멍 (ko) (meongmeong)
- Lao: please add this translation if you can
- Malay: gonggong (ms), kung-kung
- Mongolian: хав хав (xav xav)
- Polish: hau (pl)
- Portuguese: au-au (pt)
- Romanian: ham-ham
- Russian: гав-гав (gav-gav)
- Spanish: guau guau
- Swedish: vov vov, voff voff, voff (sv), vov (sv)
- Telugu: భౌ భౌ (bhau bhau)
- Thai: โฮ่ง โฮ่ง (hôong hôong)
- Turkish: hav hav
- Vietnamese: gâu gâu (vi), ẳng ẳng, ăng ẳng (vi)
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Noun
bow-wow (plural bow-wows)
- The sound of a dog barking.
1864, Bessie Rayner Parkes, “Fontainebleau”, in Good Words, volume 5, page 224:[…] a chorus of quadruped, white and brown,
Bark’d affirmative, “gone to town,”
With affable bursts of French bow-wow;
(As part of the family they knew how!)
1911, Zane Grey, chapter 6, in The Young Lion Hunter, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, page 63:We neared a hollow where Prince barked eagerly. Curley answered, and likewise Queen. Mux’s short, angry bow-wow showed that he was in line.
- (humorous or childish) A dog.
- 1902, Theodore Roosevelt, letter to Kermit Roosevelt dated 13 October, 1902, in Joseph Bucklin Bishop (editor), Theodore Roosevelt’s Letters to His Children, New York: Scribner, 1919, p. 36,
- Gem is really a very nice small bow-wow, but Mother found that in this case possession was less attractive than pursuit.
1953, Ogden Nash, “The Pushover”, in You Can’t Get There From Here, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., page 56:My grandchild, who, when walking, wobbles,
Calls dogs Bow-wows, and turkeys, Gobbles.
Today I called a cow Moo-moo;
She’s got me talking that way too.
Coordinate terms
- (sound of a dog): arf, bark, growl, grr, howl, ruff, snarl, whimper, whine, woof, woof-woof, yap, yelp, yip
Derived terms
See also
Adjective
bow-wow (not comparable)
- (dated, informal, of language) Grandiose.
1785, James Boswell, The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, London: Charles Dilly, page 8:Lord Pembroke said once to me at Wilton, with a happy pleasantry, and some truth, that “Dr. Johnson’s sayings would not appear so extraordinary were it not for his bow-wow way;” but I admit the truth of this only on some occasions.
- 1826, Walter Scott, Diary entry for 14 March, 1826, in The Complete Works of Sir Walter Scott; with a Biography, New York: Conner & Cooke, 1833, Volume 7, Chapter 68, p. 475,
- Miss Austen had a talent for describing the involvements, and feelings, and characters of ordinary life, which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. The Big Bow-wow strain I can do myself like any now going; but the exquisite touch, which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting, from the truth of the description and the sentiment, is denied to me.