shikho means A kneeling posture with joined hands and bowed head, used in Burma to show respect to a superior. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 99 out of 100.
Why “shikho” is a great word
A profound gesture of reverence, performed by kneeling with hands pressed together and head bowed. From Burmese ရှိခိုး (hri.hkui:), first attested in English in 1858 by Henry Yule. Unlike the kowtow, a full prostration of imperial subjugation, or the salaam, a standing bow of peace, the shikho is a self-contained act of devotional humility. It is the crease of a silk longyi against a temple floor, the stilled point of joined fingertips before a golden Buddha, the profound silence that envelops a room as a student honors a master—a physical grammar for the unsayable, a silent architecture of humility that momentarily inverts the world's hierarchy.
Etymology
From Burmese ရှိခိုး (hri.hkui:).
noun
- A kneeling posture with joined hands and bowed head, used in Burma to show respect to a superior.
verb
- To show respect to (a person, etc.) by adopting this posture.