Bow"string` (&?;), n. 1. The string of a bow.

2. A string used by the Turks for strangling offenders.

Bowstring bridge, a bridge formed of an arch of timber or iron, often braced, the thrust of which is resisted by a tie forming a chord of the arch. -- Bowstring girder, an arched beam strengthened by a tie connecting its two ends. -- Bowstring hemp(Bot.), the tenacious fiber of the Sanseviera Zeylanica, growing in India and Africa, from which bowstrings are made.Balfour.

Bow"string` (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bowstringed (&?;) or Bowstrung (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bowstringing.] To strangle with a bowstring.