bow (redirected from Bow (disambiguation))

Bow, river, Canada

Bow (bō), river, 315 mi (507 km) long, rising in the Rocky Mts., S Alta., Canada, and flowing SE through Banff National Park. It emerges from the mountains in the Bow River Pass and continues past Calgary southeastward across the plains to its junction with the Belly River to form the South Saskatchewan River. Several dams have been built along the Bow, most notably the Bassano or Horseshoe Bend Dam (built 1912).

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bow, in music

bow (bō), implement used in playing stringed instruments. Its name originated from the fact that in its early form it resembled an archer's bow, but by the 17th cent. the European bow had gradually become flat. The violin bow received its definitive form during the period from 1775 to 1781 at the hands of François Tourte (1747–1835). He made the bow of brazilwood (Pernambuco wood), gave it a slightly concave curvature, and invented the device by which the horsehairs are held in place and tightened. The cello and the double bass are played with a bow that is shorter, broader, and heavier than the violin bow.

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bow¹

1. a weapon for shooting arrows, consisting of an arch of flexible wood, plastic, metal, etc. bent by a string (bowstring) fastened at each end

2. a long slightly curved stick across which are stretched strands of horsehair, used for playing the strings of a violin, viola, cello, or related instrument

3. US

a. a frame of a pair of spectacles

b. a sidepiece of the frame of a pair of spectacles that curls round behind the ear

4. a metal ring forming the handle of a pair of scissors or of a large old-fashioned key

5. Architect part of a building curved in the form of a bow

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bow²

1. Chiefly nautical

a. the forward end or part of a vessel

b. (as modifier): the bow mooring line

2. Rowing short for bowman

3. on the port (or starboard) bow Nautical within 45 degrees to the port (or starboard) of straight ahead

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bow [bau̇]

(aerospace engineering)

The forward section of an aircraft.

(architecture)

A part of a building shaped as an arc or a polygon and projecting from a straight wall.

(materials)

The distortion of lumber in which there is a deviation from a straight line in a direction perpendicular to the flat face.

(naval architecture)

The forward part of a ship.