Bow·string n.
1. The string of a bow.
2. A string used by the Turks for strangling offenders.
Bowstring bridge, a bridge formed of an arch of timber or iron, often braced, the thrust of which is resisted by a tie forming a chord of the arch.
Bowstring girder, an arched beam strengthened by a tie connecting its two ends.
Bowstring hemp Bot., the tenacious fiber of the Sanseviera Zeylanica, growing in India and Africa, from which bowstrings are made.
Gird·er, n.
1. One who, or that which, girds.
2. Arch. & Engin. A main beam; a stright, horizontal beam to span an opening or carry weight, such as ends of floor beams, etc.; hence, a framed or built-up member discharging the same office, technically called a compound girder. See Illusts. of Frame, and Doubleframed floor, under Double.
Bowstring girder, Box girder, etc. See under Bowstring, Box, etc.
Girder bridge. See under Bridge.
Lattice girder, a girder consisting of longitudinal bars united by diagonal crossing bars.
Half-lattice girder, a girder consisting of horizontal upper and lower bars connected by a series of diagonal bars sloping alternately in opposite directions so as to divide the space between the bars into a series of triangles. --Knight.
Sandwich girder, a girder consisting of two parallel wooden beams, between which is an iron plate, the whole clamped together by iron bolts.
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