bowstring
bowstring Lexical Profile
bowstring Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The strong cord stretched between the two ends of an archery bow, used to propel an arrow.
"The archer carefully waxed the bowstring before stepping up to the target line."
A cord used for strangling someone as a method of execution, historically associated with the Ottoman Empire.
"In the historical novel, the disgraced vizier lived in constant dread of the sultan's bowstring."
• verb
To strangle or execute someone using a bowstring.
"According to the chronicle, the deposed ruler was secretly bowstrung in his prison cell."
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English bough-streng, a compound of bow (from Old English boga) and string (from Old English streng). The historical sense referring to execution by strangulation arose in the 16th century from the Ottoman practice of using a bowstring to execute high-ranking officials.