dowser

English

Etymology

dowse +‎ -er

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdæʊzə/
• Rhymes: -aʊzə(r)

Noun

dowser (plural dowsers)

1. A divining rod used in searching for water, ore, etc.; a dowsing rod.

   Synonyms: divining rod, dowsing rod

   Coordinate term: doodlebug

2. One who uses the dowser or divining rod.

   Synonyms: rhabdomantist, rhabdomancer, radiesthesist

   • 1996, Richard Webster, Dowsing for Beginners: The Art of Discovering Water, Treasure, Gold, Oil, Artifacts, Llewellyn Worldwide (→ISBN)

     Interestingly enough, John Mullins, the celebrated English dowser, was able to do this experiment using a forked twig, rather than a pendulum. He claimed to be able to locate nothing but water with his dowsing rod.

   • 2002, Michael Shermer, The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience, ABC-CLIO (→ISBN), page 93:

     The instrument a dowser uses is called a dowsing rod, dowsing stick, doodlebug (when used to locate oil), or divining rod. Almost any item can be used for this purpose: a birch twig, a whalebone, and even a hanger.

Translations

divining rod — see divining rod

one who uses the dowser or divining rod

• Finnish: kaivonkatsoja (fi)
• French: rhabdomancien (fr) m, rhabdomancienne (fr) f, baguettisant (fr) m, baguettisante f, sourcier (fr) m, sourcière (fr) f, radiesthésiste (fr) m or f
• German: Rutengänger (de) m, Rutengängerin (de) f, Wünschelrutengänger (de) m, Wünschelrutengängerin (de) f, Wünschelrutengeher m, Wünschelrutengeherin f, Rhabdomant m, Rhabdomantin f
• Greek: ραβδοσκόπος (el) m or f (ravdoskópos)
• Ido: hidroskopo (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: aimsitheoir uisce m, collóir m
• Italian: rabdomante (it) m or f
• Latin: aquilex m
• Polish: różdżkarz m, różdżkarka f, radiesteta m, radiestetka f
• Portuguese: rabdomante m or f, vedor (pt) m
• Spanish: zahorí (es) m, rabdomante (es) m or f

See also

• rhabdomancy

Further reading

• dowsing on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “dowser”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Dowers, Sowder, dowers, drowse, sworde, wordes, worsed