War, law & rule

kowtow

To kowtow is literally to 'knock the head' on the floor before the emperor; Korean and Vietnamese envoys read the same characters in their own way, British envoys who refused to do it at the Qing court (Macartney in 1793, Amherst in 1816) made the word famous in English, and German took it as Kotau.

Weakest linkProbable

The road to English

From Middle Chinese to Cantonese

From Middle Chinese to Korean

From Middle Chinese to Vietnamese

From Middle Chinese to Japanese

From Mandarin Chinese to German

400 CEMiddle Chinese

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

kowtow

Weakest linkProbable

The road to English

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