A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1937 (DOST Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1400-1643
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Bowstring, Bolstring, n. [ME. bowstryng (1486), f. Bow n.1]
1. The string of a bow. 14.. Acts I. 327/2.
He may bynd the arowys and the bow with the bowstring: 14 … 1534 Treasurer's Accounts VI. 188.
v dosane bolstringis … x s. 1593 Edinburgh Testaments XXV. 263.
Thrie dossoun and ane half of barnes bow stringis estimat to x s. 1643 Edinburgh Testaments LX. 240.
Fower dossone of bowe stringes estimat all to xiij lib xij s
2. The main timber of an arched roof. 1562–3 Edinb. Old Acc. II. 175.
For mending of the haill sarking of the queir bow stringe … . Item, for garroun naillis to the bow string
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"Bowstring n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/bowstring>
