bowswoman

plural bowswomen · alternative bowwoman

1. A female archer.

   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

   5 more examples

   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

   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

   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

   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

2. rareA 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

   4 more examples

   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

   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

   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

   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