fossick

American  

[fos-ik] / ˈfɒs ɪk /

verb (used without object)

1. Mining. to undermine another's digging; search for waste gold in relinquished workings, washing places, etc.

2. to search for any object by which to make gain.

   to fossick for clients.

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verb (used with object)

1. to hunt; seek; ferret out.

fossick British  

/ ˈfɒsɪk /

verb

1. (intr) to search for gold or precious stones in abandoned workings, rivers, etc

2. to rummage or search for (something)

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Other Word Forms

• fossicker noun

Etymology

Origin of fossick

First recorded in 1850–55; origin uncertain; compare British dialect fossick “troublesome person,” fussick, fursick “to bustle about, fidget”; apparently fuss + -ick, variant of -ock

Example Sentences

Archaeologists may be eager to determine where these first people came from, but Buckley wants to fossick around inside their lives: "For me it's more interesting to know what they did once they got here."

From Time Magazine Archive

So I decided to go down and "fossick" among the Blyde River terraces.

From Reminiscences of a South African Pioneer by Scully, W. C. (William Charles)

During his sober days Bogg used to fossick about among the old mullock heaps, or split palings in the bush, and just managed to keep out of debt.

From While the Billy Boils by Lawson, Henry

Go and sleep, and I’ll fossick round town for tucker—I’m good for a sixty-pound swag, and you for eighty.

From The Tale of Timber Town by Grace, Alfred A. (Alfred Augustus)