▪ I. douse, n.1
(daʊs)
Also 7 douze, 7– douce, dowse, 9 douss.
[f. douse v.1]
A dull heavy blow or stroke.
| a 1625 Fletcher Nice Valour v. i, Souse upon Souse. Douces single. Justle sides. 1653–4 Whitelocke Jrnl. Swed. Emb. (1772) I. 137 A dowse in the neck. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. I. 3 June, He gave the young man a dowse in the chops. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xxx, The porter..started up with his club, and dealt a sound douse or two on each side. a 1845 Barham Ingol. Leg., Jerry Jarvis, It descended on her..head in one tremendous dowse. |
▪ II. † douse, dowse, n.2 Obs.
[perh. subst. use of douse, douce sweet.]
A sweetheart; a ‘dear’. Also ironical.
| [a 1310 Dame douse: see douce a. 1.] c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 104 Yit is she a fowlle dowse if ye com nar. 1573 Tusser Husb. x, Who looketh to marrie must laie to keepe house, for loue may not alway be plaieing with douse. |
▪ III. douse, v.1
(daʊs)
Also 7– dowse, 8 dousse.
[Of obscure origin: known only from 16th c. In sense 1, perh. related to MDu. dossen, or early mod.Du. doesen to beat with force and noise (Kilian): cf. also EFris. dossen to beat, strike, punch, knock, and Ger. dial. dusen, tusen, tausen, etc. to beat, strike, butt (Grimm). Senses 2 and 3 may be the same word; cf. ‘to strike sail’; sense 4 is more doubtful, and may be distinct. All the senses belong to the lower strata of the language.]
† 1. trans. To strike, punch, inflict a blow upon.
| 1559 Mirr. Mag., Hen. VI, iv, To death with daggars doust. 1730–6 Bailey (folio), To Dowse..to give one a slap on the face. |
2. Naut. To strike (a sail); to lower or slacken suddenly or in haste; to close (a port-hole).
| 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. xiii. 60 Dowse your top-saile to salute him. 1629 ― Trav. & Adv. xx. 40 Very civilly they doused [printed dansed] their topsailes. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Molir une corde, to slacken, dousse, or ease off a tight rope. 1802 in Naval Chron. VII. 47 Douse the ports. 1828 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 344 Forced to douse all sail and ease the engine. |
3. To put off, doff.
| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar Tongue s.v., Dowse your dog vane, take the cockade out of your hat. 1828 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 332 The latter have doused their butter-churn boots. 1841 Thackeray Mem. Gormandising Wks. 1886 XXIII. 357, I..doused my cap on entering the porch. |
4. To put out, extinguish, dout (a light).
| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar Tongue (Farmer), Dowse the glim = put out the candle. 1824 W. Irving T. Trav. (1849) 428 ‘Dowse the light’! roared the hoarse voice from the water. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxxiii. (1856) 294 At nine the deck-lantern was doused. |
5. To throw down, table (money): = doss v.1 2.
| 1797 G. Washington Let. Writ. 1892 XIII. 425 Asking opinions and requiring services..without dousing my money. |
6. To ‘shut up’, stop, cease.
| 1887 Hall Caine Deemster xxxiii. 221 ‘Dowse that, Billy, and bear a hand and be quiet.’ |
Hence ˈdousing vbl. n.; also ˈdouser, (a) a heavy blow; (b) Cinemat. (see quots.).
| 1782 Franklin Wks. (1888) VII. 411 It was allowed..to give him a rising blow. Let ours be a douser. 1837 Southey Doctor cxxv. IV. 248 In common use among school-boys and blackguards..the threat of giving any one a dowsing. 1921 A. C. Lescarboura Cinema Handbk. 21 Douser, the manually operated door in the projecting machine, which intercepts the light before it reaches the film. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 262/2 Douser, the automatic screen which cuts off the light falling on to the film from the projector arc, when it is not passing intermittently through the gate. |
▪ IV. douse, v.2
(daʊs)
Also 7 dou-, dowsse, douze, 7– dowse, douce.
[Appears c 1600: origin unknown; perh. onomatopœic; cf. souse.
It is of course not impossible that it arose out of douse v.1, though connexion is not obvious.]
† 1. trans. To plunge vigorously in water, or the like; to immerse with force. Obs.
| 1600 Holland Livy xix. Epit. 391 Claudius Pulcher..commaunded the sacred Pullets to be doussed and drenched over the head in the water. 1612 T. Taylor Comm. Titus i. 16 And dowse himselfe ouer head and eares in impietie. 1643 Hammond Serm. vii. Wks. 1684 IV. 515, I have wash'd my feet in mire or ink, douz'd my carnal affections in all the vileness of the world. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. i. iv. §11 To have heard the great noise the Sun used to make..when he doused his head in the Ocean. |
2. To throw water over; to water, to drench.
| 1606 Holland Sueton. 75. 1610 ― Camden's Brit. i. 420 A stately place..which Tanus with wandring streame doth dowsse. 1794 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Remonstr. Wks. III. 368 Well dous'd by rushing rains. 1879 Seguin Black For. x. 164 Melusina's haunt was thoroughly doused with holy water. 1893 Capt. King Foes in Ambush 26 Douse a dipper of water over him. |
3. intr. To plunge or be plunged into water.
| 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 344 They joy and strive to be doussing, badling, and diving together with them. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. i. 502 It is no jesting, trivial matter, To swing i' th' air, or douce in water. 1872 Browning Fifine lxv, Sowse Underneath ducks the soul, her truthward yearnings dowse Deeper in falsehood! |
Hence doused ppl. a.; ˈdousing vbl. n., a drenching; also ˈdouser, one who drenches.
| 1788 M. Cutler in Life, Jrnls. & Corr. (1888) I. 416 A shower came on, and gave us a severe dousing. 1881 Henty Cornet of Horse viii, A copious dousing of his face and head with water. 1883 Gd. Words Aug. 544/1 The ‘doused’ and the ‘douser’ being at enmity. |
▪ V. douse
var. of douce a., sweet.
▪ VI. douse
etc. : see also dowse, etc.