oxbow
UK[ˈɒksbəʊ]US[ˈɑːksboʊ]
n
A U-shaped bend in a river.
n
A U-shaped piece of wood placed under and around the neck of an ox, attached to the yoke.
Morpheme Breakdown
ox
bow
ox
bow
Etymology
The word 'oxbow' is a transparent compound from Old English, directly combining 'oxa' (ox) and 'boga' (a bend or arch). Its primary modern meaning, a U-shaped bend in a river, is a metaphorical extension from the original, literal object: the U-shaped wooden collar fitted to an ox. The logic of the term lies in the shared, distinctive U-shape, which visually connects the harness for a draft animal to a specific and common geomorphological feature formed by the meandering of a river.
Analysis
Structure: ox + bow
- ox: From Old English 'oxa', meaning a male bovine animal.
- bow: From Old English 'boga', meaning something bent or curved, like an arch or a weapon for shooting arrows.
Examples
The old river channel formed an oxbow lake after the main flow cut across the narrow neck of the bend.
The farmer adjusted the oxbow on the yoke before plowing the field.
From the air, the oxbow in the river was clearly visible, a perfect horseshoe shape of water.