recurve
/rɪˈkəːv
/verb [no object] chiefly Biology
Bend backwards: (as adjective recurved) large recurved tusks...
- The petals may be overlapped, recurved, frilled, crinkled or ruffled.
- All teeth as preserved are pointed (there are no evident bicuspid crowns), and slightly recurved posteriorly.
- The flowers commonly have more or less recurved petals, and usually face outward or upward (as opposed to drooping).
noun Archery
A bow that curves forward at the ends, which straighten out under tension when the bow is drawn.The recurve requires less than half the effort of the longbow to draw back the string....
- Modern longbows and recurves advance efficient hunting distances another measure.
- On the wall adjacent to the targets, hung unstrung bows of every kind - longbows, short bows, recurves and compounds, even a crossbow - and beside them hung quivers full of arrows.
Derivatives
recurvature
Origin
Late 16th century: from Latin recurvare 'bend something back', from re- 'back' + curvare 'to bend'.