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dowse

 [dous]   Origin

dowse

1   [dous] verb (used with object), verb (used without object), dowsed, dows·ing, noun
douse.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

dowse

2   [douz] verb, dowsed, dows·ing.
verb (used without object)
1.
to search for underground supplies of water, metal, etc., by the use of a divining rod.
verb (used with object)
2.
to search for (as water) by or as if by dowsing.
Origin:
1685–95; orig. dial. (SW England); origin obscure
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
douse or dowse1 (daʊs)
 
—vb
1.  to plunge or be plunged into water or some other liquid; duck
2.  (tr) to drench with water, esp in order to wash or clean
3.  (tr) to put out (a light, candle, etc)
 
—n
4.  an immersion
 
[C16: perhaps related to obsolete douse to strike, of obscure origin]
 
dowse or dowse1
 
—vb
 
—n
 
[C16: perhaps related to obsolete douse to strike, of obscure origin]
 
'douser or dowse1
 
—n
 
'dowser or dowse1
 
—n

dowse1 (daʊs)
 
—vb, —n
a variant spelling of douse
 
'dowser1
 
—n

dowse2 (daʊz)
 
—vb
(intr) to search for underground water, minerals, etc, using a divining rod; divine
 
[C17: of unknown origin]
 
'dowser2
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dowse
1690s, a south England dialect word, of uncertain origin, said to have been introduced to Devon by German miners in Elizabethan times.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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