Prow

//pɹoʊ// adj, name, noun

adj, name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The front part of a vessel.

    "The floating vessel swum / Uplifted, and secure with beaked prow / rode tilting o'er the waves."

  2. 2
    Alternative form of proa. alt-of, alternative
  3. 3
    front part of a vessel or aircraft wordnet
  4. 4
    A vessel.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Brave, valiant, gallant. archaic

    "For they be two the prowest knights on ground, / And oft approu’d in many hard assay […]"

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Example

More examples

"The shattered oars start forth; / round swings the prow, and lets the waters sweep / the broadside. Onward comes a mountain heap / of billows, gaunt, abrupt."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle French proue, proe, from Ligurian prua, proa, from Latin prōra, from Ancient Greek πρῷρα (prōîra).

Etymology 2

From Middle English prow, from Old French prou, from Late Latin prode; more at proud.

Etymology 3

Variant of Prue.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.