dowser

dowse +‎ -er

• IPA^(key): /ˈdaʊzə/
• Rhymes: -aʊzə(ɹ)

dowser (plural dowsers)

1. A divining rod used in searching for water, ore, etc.; a dowsing rod.

   Synonyms: divining rod, dowsing rod

   Coordinate term: doodlebug

2. One who uses the dowser or divining rod. A diviner.

   Synonyms: rhabdomantist, rhabdomancer, radiesthesist

   • 1996, Richard Webster, Dowsing for Beginners: The Art of Discovering Water, Treasure, Gold, Oil, Artifacts, Llewellyn Worldwide, →ISBN:

     Interestingly enough, John Mullins, the celebrated English dowser, was able to do this experiment using a forked twig, rather than a pendulum. He claimed to be able to locate nothing but water with his dowsing rod.

   • 2002, Michael Shermer, The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 93:

     The instrument a dowser uses is called a dowsing rod, dowsing stick, doodlebug (when used to locate oil), or divining rod. Almost any item can be used for this purpose: a birch twig, a whalebone, and even a hanger.

   • 2003, William Gibson, Pattern Recognition (Bigend cycle; book 1), New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, page 2:

     Google Cayce and you will find “coolhunter,” and if you look closely you may see it suggested that she is a “sensitive” of some kind, a dowser in the world of global marketing.

• rhabdomancy

• dowsing on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “dowser”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

• Dowers, Sowder, dowers, drowse, sworde, wordes, worsed