I. ˈsau̇s verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English sousen, probably from Middle French sous, souce, n., souse, preservative
transitive verb
1. : to steep in a preservative : pickle
counter loaded with soused herrings — A.J.Cronin
2.
a. : to dip in or as if in water : immerse , plunge
soused the squealing youngster up and down until … it was clean — A.W.O'Neil
soused himself in the literature of the period before writing his term paper
b. : to wet thoroughly : drench , saturate
the engines arrived and soused the burning houses — George Meredith
3.
a. : to shower or engulf completely : soak , submerge
guns … soused the kopjes with shells — London Daily News
b. : to douse a person with : slosh , pour
soused one of the buckets in the drunk's face — W.A.White
4. : to make drunk : inebriate
he was soused, but the look in his eyes, the rapt expression … weren't due only to drink — W.S.Maugham
intransitive verb
1. : to become immersed or drenched ; especially : bathe
2. : to get drunk
Synonyms: see dip
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English souse, from Middle French sous, souz, souce, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German sulza salt water, pickled sausage, Old Saxon sultia salt water, Middle Dutch sulte pickled pork, Old English sealt salt — more at salt
1.
a. : something that is pickled ; especially : pork trimmings, fish, or shellfish chopped, seasoned, cooked, and molded for slicing
b. : a pickling solution
2. chiefly dialect : ear
3. : an act or instance of drenching or immersion : dip , wetting
the storm gets down his neck in an icy souse — Robert Frost
4.
a. : a habitual drunkard : tippler
a souse on a bar stool — Raymond Chandler
b. : a drinking spree : binge
a Sunday morning headache from a Saturday night souse
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English sowce, probably of imitative origin
chiefly dialect : a heavy blow
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English souce, alteration of sours start of flight, source — more at source
obsolete : the start of a bird's flight or the stoop of a hawk intercepting it at this point
V. ˈsau̇s verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
archaic : to swoop down : plunge
transitive verb
archaic : to knock down by swooping upon
VI. adverb
: with a sudden swoop or splash
souse went the sheep into a murky, muddy pool — Zane Grey
VII. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: probably from souse (III)
transitive verb
archaic : to hit hard : beat severely
intransitive verb
archaic : to come down heavily
VIII. adverb
chiefly dialect : with a strong impact : heavily , directly