A nautical term meaning to drink heavily or carouse, or to drink greedily; also spelled 'booze' in modern usage.
From Dutch 'buysen' or 'buizen' (to drink excessively), related to modern 'booze,' showing how nautical vocabulary entered English from Dutch seafaring tradition.
The word 'bowse' is a nautical ancestor of our modern 'booze'—sailors brought this Dutch word to English in the age of sail, and it shows how much maritime culture shaped everyday English vocabulary.
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