Basic Guidelines For English Spellings
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1A concealed bow and arrow serving as an animal trap and equipped with a mechanism to fire the arrow when a tripwire or the like is moved.
2A compass in which the legs are joined by a flexible bow-shaped bar or plate rather than a hinge. Compare "bow-compass". More fully "spring bow dividers".
Mid 18th century (in an earlier sense). Partly from spring + bow.