bough
/ˈbaʊ̯/
bough noun: a tree-branch, usually a primary one directly attached to the trunk.
Noun
bough (plural boughs)
- A tree-branch, usually a primary one directly attached to the trunk.
- When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. (Rock-a-bye Baby)
- Where the Bee ſucks, there ſuck I, / In a Cowſlips bell, I lie, / There I cowch when Owles doe crie, / On the Batts backe I doe flie / after Sommer merrily. / Merrily, merrily, ſhall I liue now / Vnder the bloſſom that hangs on the Bow.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...
- A gallows.
- It was vſed of auncient time in Gauelkind land, & hath receiued the allowance and iudgement of a good and lawfull cuſtome, that if the huſband be attainted and executed for a felonie by him committed, yet ſhall his wife for the ſolace of her loſſe and deſolation haue her dowrie of his land, and...1584, A Breefe Discourse, Declaring and Approuing the Necessarie and Inuiolable Maintenance of the Laudable Customes of London: […], London: […] Henrie Midleton for Rafe Newberie, →OCLC, pages 26–27
- "No need," he said, "long words to make, / And little heed we thy lies now, / But if she doom thee to the bough.["]1870, William Morris, “December: The Fostering of Aslaug”, in The Earthly Paradise: A Poem, part IV, London: F[rederick] S[tartridge] Ellis, […], →OCLC, page 77
Proper noun capitalized: Bough
Bough (plural Boughs)
- A surname.
bough meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Telugu
bough in Hindi
- firm (and often larger) branch of a tree
- शाखा śākhā, टहनी ṭahnī, डाल ḍāl, डाली ḍālī
bough in Tamil
- bough, branch
- உறுப்பு uṟuppu
bough in Urdu
- شاخ
bough in Telugu
- a bough or stem
- మట్ట maṭṭa
More languagesFewer languages
- bough in Malayalam
- മരക്കൊമ്പ്, ശിഖരം
- bough in Kannada
- ಮಟ್ಟೆ, ಮಡಲು
- bough in Arabic
- غُصْن ḡuṣn
- bough in Persian
- شاخه šâxe
- bough in Vietnamese
- cành, ngành, nhánh
Examples of bough in a sentence
- When thou beateſt thine oliue tree thou shalt not goe ouer the boughes againe: it shall be for the ſtranger, for the fatherleſſe, and for the widow.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 24:20:
- When the Corn was ſow'd, I had no Harrow, but was forced to go over it my ſelf, and drag a great heavy Bough of a Tree over it, to Scratch it, as it may be call'd, rather than Rake or harrow it.1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam]...
- Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed / Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu; […]1819 May, John Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for...
- The green colour of the young snake is a protective garment, enabling it to lie concealed among the smaller green boughs.1913, W[illiam] P[lane] Pycraft, “Reptilian Liveries”, in The Infancy of Animals, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, pages...
Forms of bough
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | boughs |
| alternative form (obsolete) | bow |
| alternative form (obsolete) | bowe |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Boughs |
Origin of bough
PIE word *bʰeh₂ǵʰús From Middle English bough (“branch of a bush or tree, especially a main branch; limb of an animal or person; something resembling a branch (such as a plant root or branch of a nerve); (figuratively) Christian cross; descendant, offspring”) [and other forms], from Old English bōg, bōh (“tree bough or branch; arm; shoulder”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōgu, from Proto-Germanic *bōguz (“shoulder; upper arm”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵʰús (“arm”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Bouch, West Frisian boech, Dutch boeg, German Low German Boog, German Bug, Danish bov, Icelandic bógur, and distantly with Ancient Greek πῆχυς (pêkhus, “forearm, cubit, etc.”). Doublet of bow ("front of a ship, prow").
Words formed from bough
Phrases with bough
Words that rhyme with bough
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about bough
- What does bough mean?
- Bough means a tree-branch, usually a primary one directly attached to the trunk.
- What is bough in Hindi?
- Bough in Hindi is शाखा (śākhā), टहनी (ṭahnī), डाल (ḍāl). See Bough meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use bough in a sentence?
- When thou beateſt thine oliue tree thou shalt not goe ouer the boughes againe: it shall be for the ſtranger, for the fatherleſſe, and for the widow.
- What part of speech is bough?
- Bough can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce bough?
- Bough is pronounced /ˈbaʊ̯/.
- What is the plural of bough?
- The plural of bough is boughs.
Words near bough in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: bough (page history and authors); Bough (page history and authors); உறுப்பு (Tamil) (page history and authors); bough (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); మట్ట (Telugu) (page history and authors); bough (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); bough (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-bough.ogg, En-us-bough.ogg.
Cite this entry: “bough.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bough. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.