rouse  (rouz)
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v. roused, rous·ing, rous·es v.tr.1. To wake (someone) up. 2. To cause (someone) to be active, attentive, or excited; stir up. See Synonyms at provoke. 3. To give rise to; bring about: an ad that roused my curiosity; a book that roused a furor. v.intr.1. To awaken. 2. To become active, attentive, or excited.
[Middle English rousen, to shake the feathers: used of a hawk, perhaps from Old French reuser, ruser, to repel, push back, from Vulgar Latin *recūsāre, from Latin, to refuse; see RECUSE.]
rouser n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
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