Brewer's: Doss

A hassock stuffed with straw; a bed—properly, a straw bed; whence the cant word for a lodging-house is a dossingken. Dossel is an old word for a bundle of hay or straw, and dosser for a straw basket. These words were common in Elizabeth's reign. The French dossier means a “bundle.”

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Related Content