bowstring

English

Etymology

From bow +‎ string.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈboʊstɹɪŋ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbəʊstɹɪŋ/
• Hyphenation: bow‧string

Noun

bowstring (plural bowstrings)

1. The string of an archer's bow.
2. (historical) The string of an archer's bow, as used by the Turks for strangling offenders.

Derived terms

• (string of an archer's bow): bowstring bridge, bowstring girder, bowstring hemp, bowstring knot

Translations

string of an archer's bow

• Arabic: وَتَر (ar) m (watar)
• Armenian: աղեղնալար (hy) (aġeġnalar)
• Azerbaijani: kiriş
• Belarusian: цеціва́ f (cjecivá)
• Bulgarian: тетива́ f (tetivá)
• Burmese: လေးကြိုး (my) (le:krui:)
• Cahuilla: 'alxawill
• Catalan: corda (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 弓弦 (gung¹ jin⁴), 弦 (jin⁴)

  Dungan: гунщян (gunxi͡an)

  Mandarin: 弓弦 (zh) (gōngxián), 弦 (zh) (xián)

• Czech: tětiva (cs) f
• Danish: buestreng c
• Dutch: boogpees f, boogstreng f
• Estonian: vibunöör
• Finnish: jänne (fi)
• French: corde (fr) f
• Georgian: ლარი (ka) (lari), ლამბი (lambi)
• German: Bogensehne f
• Greek:

  Ancient: νευρά f (neurá)

• Hindi: ज्या (hi) f (jyā), प्रत्यंचा (hi) (pratyañcā)
• Hungarian: íjhúr (hu)
• Icelandic: bogastrengur m
• Italian: corda (it) f
• Japanese: 弓弦 (ゆづる, yuzuru, ゆみづる, yumizuru, ゆんづる, yunzuru), 弦 (ja) (つる, tsuru)
• Kazakh: адырна (adyrna)
• Khmer: បន្លោះ (km) (bɑnlɑh), ចាប (km) (caap)
• Korean: 궁현(弓弦) (gunghyeon), 활줄 (hwaljul), 활시위 (hwalsiwi)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ژێ (jê)

  Northern Kurdish: jih (ku)

• Kyrgyz: жаанын жиби (jaanın jibi)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: templė f
• Lü: ᦉᦻᦂᦳᧂ (ṡaayk̇ung)
• Macedonian: тетива f (tetiva)
• Malayalam: ഞാൺ (ml) (ñāṇ), വിൽഞാൺ (vilñāṇ)
• Marathi: प्रत्यंचा f (pratyañcā)
• Middle Persian: 𐭦𐭩𐭧 (zyḥ /⁠zīh⁠/)
• Mon: please add this translation if you can
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: хөвч (mn) (xövč)

  Mongolian: ᠬᠥᠪᠴᠢ (köbči)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: buestreng m

• Occitan: please add this translation if you can
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: тѧтива f (tętiva)

• Old English: bogan strenġ m
• Persian:

  Classical Persian: زِه (fa) (zih)

  Iranian Persian: زِه (fa) (zeh)

• Plautdietsch: Boageseid f
• Polish: cięciwa (pl) f
• Portuguese: corda de arco f
• Romagnol: cörda f
• Romanian: coardă (ro) f
• Russian: тетива́ (ru) f (tetivá)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: тѐтива f

  Roman: tètiva (sh) f

• Shan: please add this translation if you can
• Slovak: tetiva f
• Slovene: tetiva f
• Southern Altai: кириш (kiriš)
• Spanish: cuerda (es) f
• Swedish: bågsträng c
• Tajik: зеҳ (zeh)
• Tatar: кереш (tt) (kereş)
• Telugu: అల్లె (te) (alle)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Tocharian B: wäntalyi
• Turkish: kiriş (tr), yay kiriş
• Turkmen: kiriş
• Tuvan: кириш (kiriş)
• Ukrainian: тятива́ f (tjatyvá)
• Uzbek: kamalak ipi
• Vietnamese: dây cung
• Yiddish: please add this translation if you can

Verb

bowstring (third-person singular simple present bowstrings, present participle bowstringing, simple past and past participle bowstrung or bowstringed)

1. (transitive) To strangle with a bowstring.
   • 1850, Edgar Allan Poe, The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade:

     When the day broke […] it was high time for her to get up and be bowstrung—a thing very little more pleasant than hanging, only a trifle more genteel.

   • 1909, O. Henry (William Sydney Porter), A Municipal Report

     I have seen (on one of my imaginary tours) the Sultan of Turkey bowstring with his own hands one of his wives who had uncovered her face in public.