from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. Bow-compasses, one leg of which carries a pencil.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. See bow-pen.
Sorry, no etymologies found.
To test this latter, which is of great importance in the spring bow-pencil as well as in the pen, it is well to close the legs nearly together and taking one leg in one hand and the other leg in the other hand (between the forefinger and thumb), pushing and pulling them sideways, any motion in that direction being sufficient to condemn the instrument.
A and B in the bow-pencil or circle-pencil, in Figure 33.
With the bow-pencil set to half the required length and breadth of the square the arcs 1, 2, 3 and 4, in Figure 131, are marked, and then the lines 5 and 6, letting them run past the width of the arcs 3 and 4.
A small spring bow-pen for circles, a lining pen or pen for straight lines, a small spring bow-pencil for circles, a large bow-pen with a removable leg to replace by a divider leg or a pencil leg, and having an extension piece to increase its capacity.
By means of a strip of lead called a leaden tape, which he pressed around and into the fillets and hollows with his finger and thumb, he transferred the exact contour of each moulding to his drawing, that lay on a sketching-stool a few feet distant; where were also a sketching-block, a small T-square, a bow-pencil, and other mathematical instruments.