WORD of the day

kowtow \KOU-TOU\, verb:

1. To act in a subservient manner.
2. To kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in expression of deep respect, worship, or submission, as formerly done in China.

noun:
1. An act of servile deference.
The administration would kowtow to student activists by agreeing to meet with them and behave as if their demands merited serious consideration.
-- Debra J. Saunders, "Starving for attention at UC Berkeley", SFGate, May 2010
She didn't kowtow to color, she didn't kowtow to power, she didn't kowtow to men. She was very, very strong.
-- Naila Francis, "Raw & Revealing", The Intelligencer, May 2010

Kowtow is from the Mandarin k'o-t'ou, the custom of touching the ground with the forehead to show respect or submission, literally "knock the head."