Bow

Bow (weapon)

A bow is a weapon consisting of a curved, flexible strip of material, especially wood, strung taut from end to end and used to launch missiles like arrows or bolts.

See also:

• Archery
• Longbow
• Crossbow
• Ballista

Bow (musical instrument accessory)

Some stringed instruments may be played by stroking a bow across the strings, rather than plucking the strings. The bow of a musical instrument is typically strung with horsehair (light hair for treble strings or dark hair for bass strings) obtained from the horse's tail. To increase the friction of the hair the bow is rubbed with rosin before use. Period bows were convex in form unlike the concave bow introduced by Tourte.

Bow (action)

A bow is the act of nodding, curtseying or bending at the waist towards someone as an act of respect and greeting. A bow can range from a very slight nodding of the head, to a bow on one knee, to a full kowtow practiced in Asian cultures where the bowing person kneels and strikes his forehead to the ground, to a fully prostrate position practiced in the religious ceremonies of many faiths. The degree of the bow is usually dictated by the relative rankings of the people involved (a lower ranking person bows lower to a higher ranking person). In Renaissance Dances, the reverence is used as a type of bowing during, before and after each dance.