souse

Meanings

Noun

• Something kept or steeped in brine
• The act of sousing; a plunging into water.
• A person suffering from alcoholism.
• The act of sousing, or swooping.
• A heavy blow.
• A sou (the French coin).
• A small amount.

Verb

• To immerse in liquid; to steep or drench.
• To steep in brine; to pickle.
• To strike, beat.
• To fall heavily.
• To pounce upon.

Adverb

• Suddenly, without warning.

Origin

• From Middle English souse ("to salt pickle") also a noun (“liquid for pickling,” “pickled pig parts”), from Old French sous ("preserved in salt"), from Frankish *sultija ("saltwater, brine"), from Proto-Germanic *sultijō ("saltwater, brine"). Cognate with Old Saxon sultia ("saltwater"), Old High German sulza ("brine").
• Obscure origin. Compare Middle German sûs (“noise”).
• Borrowed from French, from Old French sous (plural of sout), from Latin solidus. Compare solidus.