slake

American  

[sleyk] / sleɪk /

verb (used with object)

slaked, slaking

1. to allay (thirst, desire, wrath, etc.) by satisfying.

   Synonyms:

   relieve, gratify, quench, satisfy

2. to cool or refresh.

   He slaked his lips with ice.

3. to make less active, vigorous, intense, etc..

   His calm manner slaked their enthusiasm.

4. to cause disintegration of (lime) by treatment with water.

5. to moisten; wet.

   To thicken the sauce, add a tablespoon of cornstarch slaked with a little cold water.

6. Obsolete. to make loose or less tense; slacken.

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verb (used without object)

slaked, slaking

1. (of lime) to become slaked.

2. Archaic. to become less active, intense, vigorous, etc.; abate.

slake British  

/ sleɪk /

verb

1. literary (tr) to satisfy (thirst, desire, etc)

2. poetic (tr) to cool or refresh

3. Also: slack.  to undergo or cause to undergo the process in which lime reacts with water or moist air to produce calcium hydroxide

4. archaic to make or become less active or intense

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Other Word Forms

• slakable
  adjective
• slakeable
  adjective
• slakeless
  adjective
• slaker
  noun
• unslakable
  adjective
• unslakeable
  adjective
• unslaked
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of slake

First recorded before 1000; Middle English slaken, slakken, slake “to loosen, lessen, mitigate, allay, moderate,” Old English slacian, slæcian, sleacian “to slacken, lessen one's efforts,” equivalent to slæc “inactive, careless, languid” + -ian causative verb suffix; see origin at slack ¹

Explanation

When you slake something, such as a desire or a thirst, you satisfy it. A big glass of lemonade on a hot summer day will slake your thirst. The word slake traces back to the Old English word slacian, meaning to “become less eager.” If you slake something, like thirst, you become less eager to drink. In other words, you are less thirsty. Like satisfy and quench, close relatives of slake in meaning, the word is used to indicate that a craving is made less intense by getting whatever it is that you crave.

Example Sentences

Slake the lime in a separate vessel by pouring about 5 oz. of water over it.

From Vegetable Dyes Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer by Mairet, Ethel M.

Slake the lime slowly so as to get a smooth, thick cream.

From Agriculture for Beginners Revised Edition by Burkett, Charles William

Slake the lime, using as little water as possible to make it disintegrate, then mix the whole by a sieve.

From The Art of Perfumery And Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants by Piesse, George William Septimus

Slake, slāk, v.t. to quench: to extinguish: to mix with water: to make slack or inactive.—v.i. to go out: to become extinct.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

Slake the lime in a separate barrel, using just enough water to make a smooth, clean, thin whitewash.

From One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered by Wickson, Edward J. (Edward James)

Related Words

• appease
• assuage
• quench