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bowery

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bowery¹

  • /ˈbaʊəɹi/

noun boweries

  1. Structure with roof for shade but with no walls used for public gatherings. A pavilion. The group performed in the old bowery, an open-air building with a roof of branches laid over vertical poles, the forerunner of the first tabernacle.

adjective bowerier · more bowery · boweriest · most bowery

  1. Sheltered by trees; leafy; shady. Such a man had no chance whatever in this flowery and bowery little suburb.

bowery²

  • /ˈbaʊəɹi/

Where it comes from

From bower + -y, calque of Dutch bouwerij.

noun boweries · bouwerie · bouwery

  1. archaic In the early settlements of New York State, USA, a farm or estate. His estate, or bowery, as it was called, has ever continued in the possession of his descendants.

Bowery³

  • /ˈbaʊəɹi/

Where it comes from

Unexplained. Perhaps a topographic surname for someone who lived in a small cottage, from Middle English bour (“chamber, cottage”) or, alternatively, an occupational surname for someone who worked there.

proper noun Bowerys · Bowry

  1. A surname from Middle English.

Bowery⁴

  • /ˈbaʊəɹi/

Where it comes from

From Dutch bouwerij (“farm”).

proper noun the Bowery

  1. A street and a district of New York City, whose residents were traditionally of a low socioeconomic class. We were seen quarrelling this afternoon in a saloon over on the Bowery.

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MLA

"bowery." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bowery. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

bowery. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bowery

Chicago

"bowery." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bowery.

BibTeX
@misc{bowery_2026,
  title = {bowery},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bowery},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}