Selfbow
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A bow made from a single piece of wood (often referred to as a bow stave).
"With reſpect to a bow being made round, we muſt recollect, that [Roger] Aſcham ſpeaks of a ſelf'''-bow; which, it ſeems, was made round as well as the back as in the belly: but back'd-bows have almoſt always a flat back, to prevent their caſting."
Synonyms
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More examples"With reſpect to a bow being made round, we muſt recollect, that [Roger] Aſcham ſpeaks of a ſelf'''-bow; which, it ſeems, was made round as well as the back as in the belly: but back'd-bows have almoſt always a flat back, to prevent their caſting."
Etymology
From self (“having its own or a single nature or character throughout without addition or change, unmixed; (archery) of a bow: made from a single piece of wood”, adjective) + bow.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.