chou

noun

1. Choux pastry, usually in the form of a small round cake with a sweet filling.
2. A bunch, knot, or rosette of ribbon or other material, used as an ornament in women's clothing.

   “Medium sized chous, or rosettes of the ribbon finish the trimming at bottom of chest opening, and at the waist points back and front.”

name

1. A common Chinese surname

   “During the more than fifteen hours of formal talks I had with Chou we covered a wide range of issues and ideas. Since all our discussions during this trip were so frank, it was understandable that the Chinese were nervous about the possibility of leaks. I am sure that Chou had no trouble imagining the propaganda use the Kremlin would have for the transcripts of our talks.”

2. (alt-of, dated)Dated form of Zhou (“dynasty, realm and era”).

   “Chou: at first a principality in South Shen Si and part of Kan Suh, subject to Shang dynasty; afterwards the imperial dynasty itself. Ts‘in: principality west of the above. When the Chou dynasty moved its capital east into Ho Nan, Ts‘in took possession of the old Chou principality. Tsin: principality (same family as Chou) in South Shan Si (and in part of Shen Si at times).”

   “Considering the skill displayed in the drilling and decoration of many jades assigned to the Chou Dynasty, it would appear that the plain Huang Ts’ung originated at a much earlier date (Plate ix).”

   “In the Shang and Chou periods our knowledge from archaeology of ordinary dwellings is thus far poor, but something can be said of the more pretentious edifices.”

   “A group of bronzes of the late Western Chou were uncovered in Chingshan County, Hupeh Province, and 25 pieces of stone ching (musical chimes) with a painted design of the State of Chu were found in Chiangling County of the same province.”

   “The genesis of the Chinese bronze mirror can be traced far back into the Chou dynasty. Some pieces that may possibly date from the eighth century b.c., but certainly predate the year 655 b.c., were unearthed in 1956–1957 at Shang-ts’ung-ling near San-men-hsia in western Honan Province.”