An archaic or dialectal term meaning to bulge, swell, or curve outward.
From Old English and Middle English sources related to 'bow' (to curve) or possibly connected to 'bulge'. The term appears in regional English dialects and older texts.
Old English had so many words for 'bulging' and 'swelling' that we've mostly forgotten them—'bowge' is one survivor that shows how descriptive people used to be about basic shapes!
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