dodman

Meaning

Noun

• A land-based snail.
• A snail's shell.
• Any shellfish which casts its shell, such as a lobster.
• A surveyor.

Origin

• Possibly dod + -archaic) rounded#Adjective, in the sense of a creature carrying a hill on its back. The word dod'' is from dod, from Middle English dodden ("to [[shave#Verb"), from dod, dodde, from Old English.
• The surveyor sense appears to be based on a misconception by English amateur archaeologist and author Alfred Watkins (1855–1935) in his book The Old Straight Track (1925).