The present participle of 'cow,' meaning to intimidate or threaten someone into submission or compliance.
From Old English 'cu' and Middle English 'cow' meaning to subdue. The verb 'to cow' is unrelated to the animal—it comes from Old Norse and Scandinavian roots meaning to strike or subdue. The '-ing' suffix creates the gerund/present participle form.
It's a funny coincidence that 'cow' the animal and 'cow' the verb (to intimidate) are completely unrelated words that happen to sound and spell the same—this is called a homonym, and English is full of these confusing pairs!
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