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Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2007-09-20 10:49:18

gilibug
Member
Registered: 2006-03-03
Posts: 43

Dousing for dowsing

For the second time today I discover my own mistake.

“Dowsing for water” is the mystical practice of attempting to divine an underground source of water by the use of a pendulum or stick, coupled with psychic powers. I always thought it was “dousing for water”: plunging into the element?

A Google search reveals I’m not the only one with this mistake, one site went as far as to try to explain the mistaken etymology:

“Water witching… Another term used is dousing for water. It comes from douse which means to place into water.”
http://www.open.org/mrdsnts/theo/d03850.htm

About 170 hits on Google for “dousing for water” as opposed to 660 for “dowsing for water”.

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