Word.ws English Dictionary

selfbow

Syllables: self·bow/ˈsɛlfbəʊ/US/ˈsɛlfˌboʊ/

selfbow noun: a bow made from a single piece of wood (often referred to as a bow stave).

selfbow: a bow made from a single piece of wood (often referred to as a bow stave)
Image: Richard Keatinge, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

selfbow (plural selfbows)

  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.1801, T[homas] Roberts, “Of the Bow”, in The English Bowman, or Tracts on Archery; […], London: […] [F]or the author, by C. Roworth, […]; [s]old by Mr. [Thomas] Edgerton, […]; [a]lso by Mr. [Thomas]...
    • Many Archers use a piece of waxed cloth, which is of great utility, as it not only gives the Bow a polish, but is a preventative against damps penetrating; this precaution however, is not so much required for self Bows, as backed ones. Self Bows are made of one piece of wood only, and that is...1820, Thomas Waring, “Attitude in Shooting”, in A Treatise on Archery; or, The Art of Shooting with the Long Bow. […], 2nd edition, London: […] A. Seale [for Thomas Waring], →OCLC, page 21
    Synonyms:
    simple bow
    Antonyms:
    backed bow

Examples of selfbow in a sentence

  • Most common was a selfbow (a bow made of a single piece of wood with no laminating materials) of springy wood tapering toward both ends and sometimes narrowed at the grip.1995, Harvey Markowitz, “Bows, Arrows, and Quivers”, in American Indians (A Magill Book), volumes 1 (A–Hay), Pasadena, Calif.; Hackensack...
  • If the design of the weapon is moderate enough to be successful as an all wood selfbow then the addition of sinew and horn will probably result in a net loss of arrow performance.2001, Hari Heath, “Wood under Stress”, in David Wescott, editor, Primitive Technology II: Ancestral Skills […], Salt Lake City, Ut.: Gibbs...

Synonyms of selfbow

  • simple bow

Antonyms

  • backed bow

Forms of selfbow

pluralselfbows
alternative formself-bow
alternative formself bow

Origin of selfbow

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.

Questions about selfbow

What does selfbow mean?
Selfbow means a bow made from a single piece of wood (often referred to as a bow stave).
How do you use selfbow in a sentence?
Most common was a selfbow (a bow made of a single piece of wood with no laminating materials) of springy wood tapering toward both ends and sometimes narrowed at the grip.
What part of speech is selfbow?
Selfbow is a noun.
How do you pronounce selfbow?
Selfbow is pronounced /ˈsɛlfbəʊ/ (UK).
What is the plural of selfbow?
The plural of selfbow is selfbows.

Words near selfbow in the dictionary

  1. selfassessment
  2. selfassessments
  3. selfassured
  4. selfawarewolf
  5. selfawarewolves
  6. selfbow
  7. selfbows
  8. selfbuild
  9. selfbuilds
  10. selfcest
  11. selfcircumcision

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: selfbow (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-selfbow.wav.

Cite this entry: “selfbow.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/selfbow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.