dowle means feathery or woolly down; filament of a feather.
dowle is pronounced /ˈdaʊl/.
Etymology
Compare Old French douille (“soft”), and English ductile.
noun
- feathery or woolly down; filament of a feather“You fools! I and my fellows
Are ministers of fate: the elements
Of whom your swords are temper'd may as well
Wound the loud winds, or with bemock'd-at stabs
Kill the still-closing waters, as diminish
One dowle that's in my plume; […]”