▪ I. pouce
(paʊs, puːs)
[a. F. pousse (dial. and commerc.) dust, in 14th c. poulce, a deriv. of L. pulvis, or a by-form *pulvus, whence also Pr. pols dust, F. poussière.]
1. Flax-dust: so called by workers in flax-mills. Hence ˈpoucey, ˈpoucy a., affected with disease of the throat or lungs caused by pouce.
| 1880 Antrim & Down Gloss., Pouce, the floating dust in rooms where flax is being dressed. Poucy, asthmatic, from the effects of inhaling ‘pouce’. 1884 Quiver Mar. 299/2 Hacklers' disease..is produced by a kind of ‘pouce’, which being inhaled causes severe tickling in the throat. 1889 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 30 Mar. 703/2 The name under which the dust is known among them is ‘pouce’, and those suffering from its effects are said to be ‘poucey’. |
2. dial. (spelt also pous(e, powce, pows(e, peawse). Dust, dirt, rubbish, refuse, in various applications. Also as adj. Rubbishy, good-for-nothing. See Eng. Dial. Dict.
▪ II. pouce
obs. form of pulse n.1