bʰewgʰ-
“to bend (a bow)”bow (bend)
PIE root meaning to bend, especially a bow. Source of words for bowing, bending, and curved objects.
Discussion
*bʰewgʰ- is a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to bend," particularly in the context of bending a bow, yielding words for bowing, curving, and flexible objects.
The root gives Old English būgan "to bow, to bend" (modern English bow, as in to bow down), with regular Grimm's Law shifts (*bʰ > b, *gʰ > g). German biegen "to bend" and Dutch buigen show the same development. The nominal derivative gives English bow (the weapon) and bough (a bent branch).
In other branches, Sanskrit bhujati "bends" preserves the root directly. The connection to the bow weapon links this root semantically to *h₂erkʷ- "to bend/arc," though the two roots are etymologically distinct.
The root's productivity in Germanic is notable: bow (weapon), bow (to bend), bough, elbow (from *el-bow, "arm-bend"), and possibly bay (a curved inlet). The semantic core of physical bending extends to metaphorical submission (bowing to authority), a development visible already in the oldest Germanic texts.
Notes
Source of English "bow", "elbow", German "biegen". Zero-grade *bʰugʰ-.