souse

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

souse, n. 

 A corrupt form of Sou.  Colman, the Elder.  [1913 Webster]

souse, n. [OF. sausse. See Sauce.].

•  Pickle made with salt.  [1913 Webster]
•  Something kept or steeped in pickle; esp., the pickled ears, feet, etc., of swine.  [1913 Webster]

  "And he that can rear up a pig in his house,
  Hath cheaper his bacon, and sweeter his souse."  [1913 Webster]
•  The ear; especially, a hog's ear.  [1913 Webster]
•  The act of sousing; a plunging into water.  [1913 Webster]

souse, v. t. [Cf. F. saucer to wet with sauce. See Souse pickle.].

•  To steep in pickle; to pickle.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  To plunge or immerse in water or any liquid.  [1913 Webster]

  "They soused me over head and ears in water."  [1913 Webster]
•  To drench, as by an immersion; to wet throughly.  [1913 Webster]

  "Although I be well soused in this shower."  [1913 Webster]

souse, v. i. [Probably fr. OF. sors, p. p. of sordre to rise, and first used of an upward swood, then of a swoop in general, but also confused with Souse, v. t. See Source.].

 To swoop or plunge, as a bird upon its prey; to fall suddenly; to rush with speed; to make a sudden attack.  [1913 Webster]
"For then I viewed his plunge and souse
Into the foamy main."  [1913 Webster]
"Jove's bird will souse upon the timorous hare."  [1913 Webster]

souse, v. t. 

 To pounce upon.  [1913 Webster]
"[The gallant monarch] like eagle o'er his serie towers,
To souse annoyance that comes near his nest."  [1913 Webster]

souse, n. 

 The act of sousing, or swooping.  [1913 Webster]
"As a falcon fair
That once hath failed or her souse full near."  [1913 Webster]

souse, adv. 

 With a sudden swoop; violently.  Young.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

souse, v. & n.
--v.
1 tr. put (gherkins, fish, etc.) in pickle.
2 tr. & intr. plunge into liquid.
3 tr. (as soused adj.) colloq. drunk.
4 tr. (usu. foll. by in) soak (a thing) in liquid.
5 tr. (usu. foll. by over) throw (liquid) over a thing.
--n.
1 a pickle made with salt. b US food, esp. a pig's head etc., in pickle.
2 a dip, plunge, or drenching in water.
3 colloq. a a drinking-bout. b a drunkard.

Etymology

ME f. OF sous, souz pickle f. OS sultia, OHG sulza brine f. Gmc: cf. SALT

THESAURUS

souse

baptism, baptize, bathe, bender, booze, booze up, boozehound, boozify, bottle sucker, brannigan, brew, brewing, bum, burial, bury, bust, chug, chug-a-lug, crock, deluge, dip, dipping, douche, douse, dousing, drench, drenching, drouk, drown, drunk, duck, ducking, dunk, dunking, elbow bender, engulf, engulfment, flush, fuddle, ginhound, hooch hound, imbrue, imbruement, imbue, imbuement, immerge, immergence, immerse, immersion, impregnate, impregnation, infiltrate, infiltration, infuse, infusion, inject, injection, inundate, inundation, jag, lave, leach, leaching, liquor, liquor up, lixiviate, lixiviation, lush, lusher, macerate, maceration, merge, overtake, overwhelm, percolate, percolation, permeate, permeation, pickle, plaster, plunge in water, pollute, pulping, raise the elbow, rinse, rum hound, rummy, saturate, saturation, seethe, seething, sink, sinking, soak, soakage, soaking, sodden, sop, sopping, sousing, sponge, steep, steeping, stew, stone, submerge, submergence, submerse, submersion, swack, swig, swill, swillbelly, swillbowl, swillpot, tank up, tear, tipsify, wash, waterlog, wet, whelm, wino

ROGET THESAURUS

souse

Plunge

VB plunge, dip, souse, duck, dive, plump, take a plunge, take a header, make a plunge, bathe, submerge, submerse, immerse, douse, sink, engulf, send to the bottom, get out of one's depth, go to the bottom, go down like a stone, drop like a lead balloon, founder, welter, wallow.

Water

VB be watery, reek, add water, water, wet, moisten, dilute, dip, immerse, merge, immerge, submerge, plunge, souse, duck, drown, soak, steep, macerate, pickle, wash, sprinkle, lave, bathe, affuse, splash, swash, douse, drench, dabble, slop, slobber, irrigate, inundate, deluge, syringe, inject, gargle.