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Kotow   Listen
Kotow

noun
(Also spelled kowtow)
1.
A former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission.  Synonym: kowtow.
verb
(past & past part. kotowed; pres. part. kotowing)
1.
Try to gain favor by cringing or flattering.  Synonyms: bootlick, fawn, kowtow, suck up, toady, truckle.





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"Kotow" Quotes from Famous Books



... Sir George Staunton distinctly and positively affirms that Lord Macartney was admitted to the presence of the Emperor Kienlung, and presented to him his credentials, without performing the prostration of the Kotow—the Chinese act of homage from the vassal to the sovereign lord. Ceremonies between superiors and inferiors are the personification of principles. Nearly twenty-five years after the repulse of Lord Macartney, in 1816, ...
— Memoir of the Life of John Quincy Adams. • Josiah Quincy


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