bowstring

[boh-string]

noun

1. the string of an archer's bow.

2. a string, typically of horsehair, for the bow of an instrument of the violin and viol families.

3. (especially in the Ottoman Empire) a similar string for killing people by strangulation.

verb (used with object)

bowstringed, bowstrung, bowstringing. 

1. to strangle with a bowstring or any string or band.

bowstring

/ ˈbəʊˌstrɪŋ /

noun

1. the string of an archer's bow, usually consisting of three strands of hemp

Word History and Origins

Origin of bowstring¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, bowstring is from Middle English bowe streng. See bow ², string

Example Sentences

Among the findings are arrows preserved with their original feathers, remains of fibres, and two bowstrings made of animal sinews, which are the oldest found so far in Europe.

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Loading the arrow with the toes of his right foot, he leans forward to latch the bowstring with a hook attached to his right shoulder.

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Handle feelings at such length and at such bowstring pitch and they tend to go fetid.

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“The pipeline has essentially been pulled like a bowstring,” said Willsher, describing some force that had pulled the pipe about 105 feet in an almost “semicircle.”

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“The pipeline has essentially been pulled like a bowstring,” he said.

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