bow oar

[bou]

noun

Origin of bow oar

First recorded in 1850–55

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Turning to him who pulled the bow-oar: "Stop pullin' a bit, Tom," said he, "stop pullin'."
The Von Toodleburgs
F. Colburn Adams
Amos pulled the bow-oar, and behind him was the tub with the line coiled away, and the harpoon bent on to it.
The World of Ice
Robert Michael Ballantyne
And what a mighty cheer rang out when she drew closer, and the man at the bow-oar stood up and cried, “Thank God, all saved!”
The Thorogood Family
R.M. Ballantyne
As it drew near, the figure of the man pulling the bow-oar seemed oddly familiar to me.
The Story of a Bad Boy
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Toffy rowed the bow-oar now, and Purvis, who knew every turn of the river, took the tiller-ropes.
Peter and Jane
S. (Sarah) Macnaughtan