oxbow

[ oks-boh ]

/ ˈɒksˌboʊ /

a U-shaped piece of wood placed under and around the neck of an ox with its upper ends in the bar of the yoke.

Physical Geography, Geology.

a bow-shaped bend in a river, or the land embraced by it.
Also called oxbow lake. a bow-shaped lake formed in a former channel of a river.

Origin of oxbow

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at ox, bow²

Oxbow lakes are common, but gorges and waterfalls are absent.

Geology |William J. Miller
During her stay at the great school, she made but one visit to Oxbow Village.

The Guardian Angel |Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
The smallest Bunker really had succeeded in getting everybody at Oxbow Bend very much stirred up.

Six Little Bunkers at Cowboy Jack's |Laura Lee Hope
The day before the race the small boys made a grand stand at the Oxbow for the spectators.

Harper's Young People, May 11, 1880 |Various

Longfellow, I believe, is not yet at the Oxbow, else the winged horse would neigh at him.

Typee |Herman Melville

oxbow

/ (ˈɒksˌbəʊ) /

a U-shaped piece of wood fitted under and around the neck of a harnessed ox and attached to the yoke

Also called: oxbow lake, cutoff a small curved lake lying on the flood plain of a river and constituting the remnant of a former meander

oxbow

[ ŏks′bō′ ]

A sharp, U-shaped bend in a river. The bend is so sharp that only a narrow neck of land is left between the two parts of the river.