Drunk or intoxicated; having the characteristics of someone who has been drinking heavily (primarily Scottish/nautical slang).
From 'bowse' (to drink heavily), with the '-ie' suffix creating an informal adjective. Scottish and nautical communities preserved this term as standard slang.
Scottish and sailors created 'bowsie' to describe that specific state of being pleasantly drunk—not sloppy, but definitely not sober. It's the kind of casual word communities create when they share common experiences.
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