Meanings
bowsy1
adjectivebowsy (comparative bowsier, superlative bowsiest)
comparative bowsier · superlative bowsiest
- obsoleteObsolete spelling of boozy.
In his cups the bowsy poet sings.
1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Tenth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC
bowsy2
nounbowsy (plural bowsies)
plural bowsies · alternative bowsie
- IrelandcolloquialAn unsavoury and unreliable (usually male) layabout.
—The mockery of it, he said contentedly, secondleg they should be. God knows what poxy bowsy left them off.
1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 1]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Probably from above, from being applied to drunkards.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
bowsy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bowsy
MLA
“bowsy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bowsy. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bowsy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bowsy.
Source: bowsy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.