down-bow

[ doun-boh ]

nounMusic.

(in bowing on a stringed instrument) a stroke bringing the tip of the bow toward the strings, indicated in scores by the symbol  (opposed to up-bow).

Origin of down-bow

First recorded in 1890–95; down¹ + bow²

Words Nearby down-bow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use down-bow in a sentence

The cleft was so deep that the stern of the boat was, when she was laid down bow foremost, fully fifteen feet inside the entrance.
Condemned as a Nihilist | George Alfred Henty
As a violinist Vieuxtemps possessed a wonderful staccato, both on the up and down bow.
Famous Violinists of To-day and Yesterday | Henry C. Lahee
Artists of the German school are more apt to begin a phrase with a down-bow; the French start playing a good deal at the point.
Violin Mastery | Frederick H. Martens
Chords of this description are usually taken with down bow-strokes.
Chats to 'Cello Students | Arthur Broadley
Her big stern rose up in the air and she went down bow first.
Sinking of the Titanic | Various

British Dictionary definitions for down-bow

down-bow

/ (ˈdaʊnˌbəʊ) /

noun

a downward stroke of the bow from its nut to its tip across a stringed instrument: Compare up-bow

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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