bøyer

Bøyer is a Norwegian verb meaning to bend, tilt, or bow. It is used for both physical movement—such as bending a limb or an object—and figurative senses, like yielding to a request or bending a rule. The infinitive form is å bøye; the present tense is bøyer, as in Han bøyer seg. The simple past is bøyde, and the past participle is bøyd, used with auxiliary verbs to form perfect tenses (for example, Har du bøyd kneet? = Have you bent your knee?). The present participle is bøyende.

In usage, bøyer commonly appears in statements about posture, mechanics, and directions of movement. It also figures in idiomatic phrases related to accommodation or compliance, where something is inclined or adjusted to fit a circumstance. The word is closely related to the noun bøying, which means bending or inflection in a grammatical or physical sense, depending on context.

Cognates exist in other Scandinavian languages. In Danish and Swedish, similar verbs convey the sense of bending, with the present-tense forms differing slightly in spelling and pronunciation. The Norwegian bøyer shares its core meaning with these cognates while reflecting distinctive Norwegian inflection patterns and pronunciation.

Etymologically, bøyer belongs to the Germanic verb family centered on bending and curvature, with forms adapted to Norwegian phonology and grammar. It is a common verb in everyday Norwegian and appears in technical and literary contexts where physical or figurative bending is described.