Dictionary

bowswoman en · NOUN

Etymology

From bow + -s- + -woman.

Meanings

1. A female archer.
   • Leading bowswomen of the Barnard College archery team are, left to right: Jean Morris, Sarah McManus and Ruth Harris. 1936 October 25, “Barnard’s Archery Queens”, in Los Angeles Times, volume LV, part II-A, page 6, columns 4–5:
   • But the bowsmen (and bowswomen, too) took off their shoes and socks and began pouring arrows into the 48-inch archery targets as the field rapidly dried. 1940 August 17, “Big Archery Tournament Is Held In City”, in The Sheboygan Press, volume XXXIII, number 206, Sheboygan, Wis., page 2, column 7:
   • Last January, one of Carol’s first assignments for the Women’s Section was to interview Celia Onderdonk, a Long Beach bowswoman who had received a national award in archery competition. 1970 June 21, Pat McDonnell, “Shower, safari, silver date incentives for round of fests”, in Independent Press-Telegram, volume 19, number 45, Long Beach, Calif., page W-2, column 1:
   • The Des Moines archery club returned from Chicago a few weeks ago laden with trophies won in a contest with the Chicago bowsmen and bowswomen. 1879 September 24, S. S. B., “Letter from Iowa”, in Burlington Free Press & Times, volume 34, number 87, Burlington, Vt., published 6 October 1879, page [2], column 3:
   • “[…] When I had seen nine winters, I used to climb sheer cliff faces to get where I wanted to go.” “And wrestled any cougars that tried to stop you, I’d wager.” “Why would I wrestle when I carried a bow, fool?” He grinned. “I should have known. A skilled bowswoman at nine winters.” 1998, Kathleen O’Neal Gear, W[illiam] Michael Gear, People of the Masks, New York, N.Y.: Forge, →ISBN, page 255:
   • According to Atiyars Malakkari is an adept bowswoman. 2003, Malayalam Literary Survey, page 15:
   • THIS COULD BE TAKEN for Robin Hood’s Merry Men’s Sweethearts, if one had ventured oct^([sic]) to Mrs. Huneke’s second period class at Lemoore High School. Here her expert bowsmen — or should we say bowswomen? — take aim at their target. 1973 June 7, The Lemoore Advance, 83rd year, number 23, Lemoore, Calif., page fourteen:
   • To-morrow we’ll try for deer in the backwoods, you are no bad bowswoman yourself, […] 1864, Diary of George Dern; or, Jottings of a Year of Middle Life, London: T[homas] Cautley Newby, […], page 65:
   • “Mirror Image” is about Atalanta the daughter of Poseidon (like Percy), who is a skilled tracker, a good bowswoman and who loves the hunt (like Atalanta from Greek mythology). 2017, Amanda Potter, ““Atlanta Just Married”: A Case Study in Greek Mythology-Based Fan Fiction”, in Lisa Maurice, editor, Rewriting the Ancient World: Greeks, Romans, Jews and Christians in Modern Popular Fiction, Brill, →ISBN, part 2 (Rewriting the Ancient World in a Modern Setting), page 139:
   • Pointing her sword, she directed bowswomen with their flaming arrows and witches with their spells, as they hurtled their strikes in bright trails at the enemy. 2006, Kresley Cole, No Rest for the Wicked, Pocket Books, published 2015, →ISBN, page 334:
   • The annual meet of the National Archery Association will take place at the Soldiers’ Home next week, commencing on the 27th. It will be a merrie^([sic]) meet, and all the skilled bowsmen and bowswomen in the districts are expected to compete for the admirable prizes. 1889 August 21, “City Items”, in The Dayton Daily Herald, volume XII, number 21, Dayton, Ohio, page [3], column 3:
   • But, unlike the Robin Hood fable, where only maid Marian was a bowswoman, the watchword of the Blackhawk Bowhunters is “togetherness.” 1961 August 27, “Blackhawk Bowhunters Gather In Greenwood Behind Onalaska H.S.”, in The La Crosse Sunday Tribune, volume 57, number 102, La Crosse, Wis., page 9:
   • The arrow pierced him and at the same moment, the bowswoman bent low in the saddle and swept him onto the horse, placing him between herself and the other. 2015, Daisy Davis, Number 17, Garamond Road: A Horse-sur-mer Novel, AuthorHouse, →ISBN:
2. (rare) A female sailor who works in the bow of a vessel.
   • So he passed it along to Salanda, who was, if we may be allowed that expression, bowswoman. She stood it upright in the bows. 1855, Benauly [pseudonym; Benjamin Vaughan Abbott; Austin Abbott; Lyman Abbott], “Cold Water”, in Cone Cut Corners: The Experiences of a Conservative Family in Fanatical Times; Involving Some Account of a Connecticut Village, the People Who Lived in It, and Those Who Came There from the City, New York, N.Y.: Mason Brothers, […], pages 296–297:
   • STERNSMAN: […] And up front, intrepidly scouting for rocks, is my co-narrator and bowsman. BOWSMAN: Hey pal, make that Bowswoman. STERNSMAN: Watch the rocks, THE ROCKS! Ow. BOWSWOMAN: I said “port,” so why’d you go left? […] BOWSWOMAN: Besides, there’s a mystic quality to canoe tripping. 1975 July 13, Rod Nordland, Carole Jacobs, “Travel by Canoe And Paddle, Too”, in The Philadelphia Inquirer, volume 293, number 13, page 1-H:
   • Though, critique led to an overly wet rapids run for a bowswoman when an enthusiastic conversation distractingly led canoes into the standing waves. 2014, Bob Henderson, “A Mara-Burnside Trip/Conference and the First Franklin Expedition”, in More Trails, More Tales: Exploring Canada’s Travel Heritage, Toronto, Ont.: Dundurn, →ISBN, part one (Introduction: Peregrinations), page 26:
   • Joel also tried to show me the draw and scoop strokes so that, as bowsman — make that bowswoman — I could steer the ship around any craggy boulders designed to tear apart the canoe if hit headon. 1975 September 15, Peggy Frizzell, “Eco-logue”, in Northwest Arkansas Times, 116th year, number 93, Fayetteville, Ark., page 6, column 1:
   • Suddenly the man in the stern said horsely,^([sic]) “Look at that!” Just then a Ruby Throated Hummingbird darted at the broad expanse of the bowswoman’s gaudy plaid shirt in front of me. 1955, Minnesota Naturalist, page 27, column 1:

Forms

Coordinates

bowsman