divining rod

See more synonyms for divining rod on Thesaurus.com

noun

a rod, especially a forked stick, commonly of hazel, supposed to be useful in locating underground water, metal deposits, etc.

Origin of divining rod

First recorded in 1745–55

Also called dowsing rod.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for divining rod

wand, doodlebug, dowser

Examples from the Web for divining rod

Historical Examples of divining rod

What has not been said for and against the divining-rod of Jacques Aimar?
The Phantom World
Augustin Calmet
After a cold and snowy night it needed a divining-rod to find it.
Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience
Henry David Thoreau
This faculty, indeed, is the divining-rod of the man of science.
Fragments of science, V. 1-2
John Tyndall
Jacob, whose nose was a divining-rod, told him there was a vein of coal beneath.
Strictly Business
O. Henry
The phenomena of tests by the divining-rod are not by any means new.
The American Architect and Building News, Vol. 27, Jan-Mar, 1890
Various

British Dictionary definitions for divining rod

divining rod

noun

a rod, usually a forked hazel twig, said to move or dip when held over ground in which water, metal, etc, is to be foundAlso called: dowsing rod

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012