dowser

[ dou-zer ]

noun

1. Also called dowsing rod [dou, -zing]. divining rod.
2. a person skilled in its use.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dowser¹

First recorded in 1830–40; dowse ² + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Larry Bird, another Northern California dowser, told me his grandfather had “witching sticks,” and he picked up the craft.

From Los Angeles Times

Other dowsers claim they can locate treasures, lost objects, alien life forms and stress in the body.

From New York Times

Angelo was up and down finding water like a dowser while Joel and Kelly bootlaced left and right, and Jack dashed through the woods as if in perpetual search for a shaded Port-o-John.

From Golf Digest

Peopled by wandering cults and water dowsers, Gold Fame Citrus shows us that perhaps the notions of “Shangri-La” and “Man-Made Hell on Earth” are two sides of the same ideological coin.

From The Guardian

Mrs. Jarvis claims her sister is a legitimate dowser, and can find water for a “nominal fee.”

From Literature