bow•string
Pronunciation: (bō'string"), [key] — n., v., -stringed -strung, -string•ing.
—n. - the string of an archer's bow.
- a string, typically of horsehair, for the bow of an instrument of the violin and viol families.
- (esp. in the Ottoman Empire) a similar string for killing people by strangulation.
—v.t. - to strangle with a bowstring or any string or band.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.