To take down: as, Dowse the pendant. Dowse your dog vane; take the cockade out of your hat. Dowse the glim; put out the candle.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
down * dowse on the chopsNathan Bailey's 1721 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes