A wooden piece or blank of wood prepared for making into a bow, or one of the curved pieces that make up a bow's construction.
From 'bow' and 'stave' (wooden piece). 'Stave' comes from Old Norse, referring to wooden strips used in barrel-making—bowyers used the same materials and techniques.
Bow-making was so specialized that they had specific terms for wood at every stage—'bowstave' was the raw material, and the skill was in knowing which trees and which cuts would make the best weapons.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.