fossickv.

Brit.

/ˈfɒsɪk/, U.S.

/ˈfɑsɪk/, Australian English

/ˈfɔsək/, New Zealand English

/ˈfɒsək/

Forms: 1800s– fossick, 1900s– fossock.

Origin: Of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: English fussock.

Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps a variant of English regional (midland and southern) fussock (also fussick , fursick ) to bustle about, make a fuss, to fidget, to rub, to potter over one's work (1854 or earlier), probably < fuss v. + -ock , frequentative suffix (compare -ock suffix).

colloquial (originally and chiefly Australian and New Zealand).

1. Mining.

a. intransitive. To search for gold (in later use also other metals, precious stones, etc.) by digging out crevices with a knife, pick, etc., or by scanning an area for fragments overlooked by others. Also with around, about.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > mining > mine [verb (intransitive)] > by specific method > for gold

fossick1852

gulch1879

rock1884

1852 W. H. Hall Pract. Experience Diggings Victoria (ed. 2) 16 At that time..there were about..10,000 diggers in the immediate vicinity of Golden Point, all actively employed in removing the surface soil, sinking holes with pick, spade, and crow-bar, or fossicking (picking out the nuggets from the interstices of the slate formation) with knives and trowels.

1864 J. Rogers New Rush i. 18 We'll fossick wherever we think there is gold.

1874 A. Bathgate Colonial Experiences xi. 138 [These unsocial miners], so long as they can make a living by ‘fossicking’ about, are happy.

1886 M. Kershaw in Spectator 4 Dec. 1630 When a Chinaman fossicks about for gold or tin.

1959 Observer 17 May 8/3 Odd old prospectors still fossick in the hills in search of shotty gold.

1960 L. Masters Back-country Tales 23 That was the last trace found of those prospectors, and probable reason for the creek where they had camped and fossicked, becoming known as Gold Creek.

2000 Cornish World Oct.–Dec. 27/2 Individual prospectors are often seen fossicking along Adelong Creek, trying their luck with pan or modern detector.

b. transitive. To search (a place) for precious stones or metals, esp. gold; (also) to find or dig out (gold, ore, etc.).

ΚΠ

1857 C. R. Thatcher in H. Anderson Goldrush Songster (1958) 77 Next morning I well fossicked it.

1864 Grant Saturday Rev. (Dunedin) 10 62 Another man, in a few hours, fossicked with his knife 10ozs [of gold].

1888 ‘Special Correspondent’ Barrier Silver & Tin Fields 22 Green fossicked out from the surface several hundred tons of good ore.

1914 A. A. Grace Tale of Timber Town 85 I shouldn't have left till I'd fossicked that gorge.

1956 R. G. Edwards Overlander Songbk. 95 I've loafed upon the Lachlan and fossicked Lambing Flat.

1983 Overlander June 40 The Aborigines ‘noodle’ or fossick the mullock heaps..with infinite patience.

2. intransitive. To go in search of something, esp. food or provisions; to hunt around for something; to forage, scavenge. Also occasionally transitive: to locate or obtain (provisions, etc.) by searching.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > make a search [verb (intransitive)] > poke about or grub

prog1579

rout1711

grub1800

ratch1801

root1831

fossick1853

rootle1854

scrounge1909

roust1919

1853 Wanderer (Adelaide) June 75 Usage has extended the term beyond gold matters. If a man were to take a log of fire-wood from a neighbour's heap..it would be said he had been fossicking.

?a1880 G. L. Meredith Adventuring in Maoriland (1935) 159 One of the cadets, who had a private fowlyard, fossicked around and returned with between two and three dozen eggs.

1890 Argus (Melbourne) 2 Aug. 4/3 Half the time was spent in fossicking for sticks.

1938 F. S. Anthony in D. M. Davin N.Z. Short Stories (1953) 213 Why not bung about ten cows each up there and let them fossick for tucker in the bush.

1956 E. C. Hiscock Around World in Wanderer III xiii. 180 A place where people go to fossick, i.e. to gather shells and coral at low water on the reef.

1968 Times 11 Sept. 11/5 Unpaved backstreets..where old crones fossicked.

1994 B. Anderson All Nice Girls vii. 116 He led her by the hand, side-stepping layered piles of loot fossicked from the Devonport tip.

2003 R. MacFarlane Mountains of Mind (2004) iv. 105 The visitors..rather enjoyed fossicking through the Alpine maquis in search of the tiny, acidic strawberries.

a. transitive. To dig, hunt, or ferret out; to rustle up.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > finding or discovery > find or discover [verb (transitive)] > by searching or tracking down > and bring to light

to search outc1425

to hunt out1576

unrip?1576

to ferret out1577

to fetch up1608

fish1632

prog1655

rummage1797

rout1814

exhume1819

excavate1840

ferret up1847

unearth1863

fossick?1870

exhumate1881

?1870 Lemaitre Songs of Gold Fields 14 He ran from the flat..Without waiting to fossick the coffin lid out.

1891 D. Ferguson Vicissitudes Bush Life 160 He fossicked up some white tablecloths.

a1895 T. C. Peter MS Coll. Cornish Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1900) II. 471/2 I'll fossick the truth out of him with questions.

1926 Bulletin (Sydney) 14 Oct. 24/4 [A butcher] wore a silver watch and chain he had fossicked out of the inside of a slaughtered cow.

1935 R. B. Plowman Boundary Rider 198 The belated visitor gratefully followed the manager to the kitchen where he proceeded to fossick out some food.

1983 T. Winton in Meanjin Dec. 508 For some time, she poked and scratched about, fossicking snails and slugs out of the long grass.

b. intransitive. To dig or grub about (frequently with the aim of finding something); to rummage.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > make a search [verb (intransitive)] > rummage or search thoroughly

ransackc1405

range1553

rig1565

rake1574

mouse1575

ferret1580

spoacha1585

rummage1625

scrimmage1843

fossick1871

roust1919

1871 Emigrant's Wife II. 24 I goes over to where he had thrown it, and takes out my knife and stoops down to fossick among it.

1887 Illustr. London News 12 Mar. 282/3 ‘Fossicking’ among books and memoranda I came upon an..example.

1924 J. Buchan Three Hostages xvi. 227 I..sat after dinner in the smoking-room, for Odell never suggested the library, though I would have given a lot to fossick about that place.

1964 P. White Burnt Ones 51 On one occasion..they were fossicking through a cupboardful of junk which provoked a joint hilarity.

1999 T. Gilling Sooterkin (2000) 50 She finds [Mr Sculley] fossicking under the leaves of his rhubarb plants.

2001 K. Lette Nip 'n' Tuck 98 I fossicked in my bag for a Bounty bar and devoured it whole.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	fossick
释义	fossickv. Brit. /ˈfɒsɪk/, U.S. /ˈfɑsɪk/, Australian English /ˈfɔsək/, New Zealand English /ˈfɒsək/ Forms: 1800s– fossick, 1900s– fossock. Origin: Of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: English fussock. Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps a variant of English regional (midland and southern) fussock (also fussick , fursick ) to bustle about, make a fuss, to fidget, to rub, to potter over one's work (1854 or earlier), probably < fuss v. + -ock , frequentative suffix (compare -ock suffix). colloquial (originally and chiefly Australian and New Zealand). 1. Mining. a. intransitive. To search for gold (in later use also other metals, precious stones, etc.) by digging out crevices with a knife, pick, etc., or by scanning an area for fragments overlooked by others. Also with around, about. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > mining > mine [verb (intransitive)] > by specific method > for gold fossick1852 gulch1879 rock1884 1852 W. H. Hall Pract. Experience Diggings Victoria (ed. 2) 16 At that time..there were about..10,000 diggers in the immediate vicinity of Golden Point, all actively employed in removing the surface soil, sinking holes with pick, spade, and crow-bar, or fossicking (picking out the nuggets from the interstices of the slate formation) with knives and trowels. 1864 J. Rogers New Rush i. 18 We'll fossick wherever we think there is gold. 1874 A. Bathgate Colonial Experiences xi. 138 [These unsocial miners], so long as they can make a living by ‘fossicking’ about, are happy. 1886 M. Kershaw in Spectator 4 Dec. 1630 When a Chinaman fossicks about for gold or tin. 1959 Observer 17 May 8/3 Odd old prospectors still fossick in the hills in search of shotty gold. 1960 L. Masters Back-country Tales 23 That was the last trace found of those prospectors, and probable reason for the creek where they had camped and fossicked, becoming known as Gold Creek. 2000 Cornish World Oct.–Dec. 27/2 Individual prospectors are often seen fossicking along Adelong Creek, trying their luck with pan or modern detector. b. transitive. To search (a place) for precious stones or metals, esp. gold; (also) to find or dig out (gold, ore, etc.). ΚΠ 1857 C. R. Thatcher in H. Anderson Goldrush Songster (1958) 77 Next morning I well fossicked it. 1864 Grant Saturday Rev. (Dunedin) 10 62 Another man, in a few hours, fossicked with his knife 10ozs [of gold]. 1888 ‘Special Correspondent’ Barrier Silver & Tin Fields 22 Green fossicked out from the surface several hundred tons of good ore. 1914 A. A. Grace Tale of Timber Town 85 I shouldn't have left till I'd fossicked that gorge. 1956 R. G. Edwards Overlander Songbk. 95 I've loafed upon the Lachlan and fossicked Lambing Flat. 1983 Overlander June 40 The Aborigines ‘noodle’ or fossick the mullock heaps..with infinite patience. 2. intransitive. To go in search of something, esp. food or provisions; to hunt around for something; to forage, scavenge. Also occasionally transitive: to locate or obtain (provisions, etc.) by searching. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > make a search [verb (intransitive)] > poke about or grub prog1579 rout1711 grub1800 ratch1801 root1831 fossick1853 rootle1854 scrounge1909 roust1919 1853 Wanderer (Adelaide) June 75 Usage has extended the term beyond gold matters. If a man were to take a log of fire-wood from a neighbour's heap..it would be said he had been fossicking. ?a1880 G. L. Meredith Adventuring in Maoriland (1935) 159 One of the cadets, who had a private fowlyard, fossicked around and returned with between two and three dozen eggs. 1890 Argus (Melbourne) 2 Aug. 4/3 Half the time was spent in fossicking for sticks. 1938 F. S. Anthony in D. M. Davin N.Z. Short Stories (1953) 213 Why not bung about ten cows each up there and let them fossick for tucker in the bush. 1956 E. C. Hiscock Around World in Wanderer III xiii. 180 A place where people go to fossick, i.e. to gather shells and coral at low water on the reef. 1968 Times 11 Sept. 11/5 Unpaved backstreets..where old crones fossicked. 1994 B. Anderson All Nice Girls vii. 116 He led her by the hand, side-stepping layered piles of loot fossicked from the Devonport tip. 2003 R. MacFarlane Mountains of Mind (2004) iv. 105 The visitors..rather enjoyed fossicking through the Alpine maquis in search of the tiny, acidic strawberries. 3. a. transitive. To dig, hunt, or ferret out; to rustle up. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > finding or discovery > find or discover [verb (transitive)] > by searching or tracking down > and bring to light to search outc1425 to hunt out1576 unrip?1576 to ferret out1577 to fetch up1608 fish1632 prog1655 rummage1797 rout1814 exhume1819 excavate1840 ferret up1847 unearth1863 fossick?1870 exhumate1881 ?1870 Lemaitre Songs of Gold Fields 14 He ran from the flat..Without waiting to fossick the coffin lid out. 1891 D. Ferguson Vicissitudes Bush Life 160 He fossicked up some white tablecloths. a1895 T. C. Peter MS Coll. Cornish Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1900) II. 471/2 I'll fossick the truth out of him with questions. 1926 Bulletin (Sydney) 14 Oct. 24/4 [A butcher] wore a silver watch and chain he had fossicked out of the inside of a slaughtered cow. 1935 R. B. Plowman Boundary Rider 198 The belated visitor gratefully followed the manager to the kitchen where he proceeded to fossick out some food. 1983 T. Winton in Meanjin Dec. 508 For some time, she poked and scratched about, fossicking snails and slugs out of the long grass. b. intransitive. To dig or grub about (frequently with the aim of finding something); to rummage. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > make a search [verb (intransitive)] > rummage or search thoroughly ransackc1405 range1553 rig1565 rake1574 mouse1575 ferret1580 spoacha1585 rummage1625 scrimmage1843 fossick1871 roust1919 1871 Emigrant's Wife II. 24 I goes over to where he had thrown it, and takes out my knife and stoops down to fossick among it. 1887 Illustr. London News 12 Mar. 282/3 ‘Fossicking’ among books and memoranda I came upon an..example. 1924 J. Buchan Three Hostages xvi. 227 I..sat after dinner in the smoking-room, for Odell never suggested the library, though I would have given a lot to fossick about that place. 1964 P. White Burnt Ones 51 On one occasion..they were fossicking through a cupboardful of junk which provoked a joint hilarity. 1999 T. Gilling Sooterkin (2000) 50 She finds [Mr Sculley] fossicking under the leaves of his rhubarb plants. 2001 K. Lette Nip 'n' Tuck 98 I fossicked in my bag for a Bounty bar and devoured it whole. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < v.1852
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