Meanings
dowle1
alternative dowl · alternative doul
- feathery or woolly down; filament of a feather
a. 1859, De Quincey, Notes on Godwin Foster and Hazlitt, at page 304 in the collected works' volume of 1864. No feather, or dowle of a feather, but was heavy enough for him.
1 more example
You fools! I and my fellows Are ministers of fate: the elements Of whom your swords are temper'd may as well Wound the loud winds, or with bemock'd-at stabs Kill the still-closing waters, as diminish One dowle that's in my plume; […]
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]
dowle2
Origin
- Old Frenchdouille“soft”
- Englishdowle
Compare Old French douille (“soft”), and English ductile.
More words from Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Russian боро́здка пера́, пуши́нка
- боро́здка пера́ (borózdka perá)filament of a feather
- пуши́нка (pušínka)filament of a feather
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with dowle
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
dowle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dowle
“dowle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dowle. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dowle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dowle.
Source: dowle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.