3 thoughts on “dwǣscan”

1. If dwǣscan is to ‘extinguish fire (with water)’, maybe we can connect it to Dutch douchen (‘showering’) or Frisian Dûse (‘showering’).

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2. I’ve been wondering about that. The OED says the word ‘douse’ is ‘of obscure origin’ and ‘known only from 16th century’ but suggests that there may be a link to Middle Dutch ‘dossen’ or German dialect ‘dusen’ (‘tausen’). And when you take away the ‘d’ it sounds very much like ModE ‘wash’.

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3. Maybe it isn’t obscure at all. We can trace both the Dutch word ‘douche’ and the English word ‘douse’ via the French to the Itialian ‘doccia’ (‘tube’) or ‘doccione’ (‘pipe’). Then it’s easy: the words must have been introduced during Roman times and signified the ‘(streaming of) water (via pipes)’.

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