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.