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quaff

[kwof, kwaf, kwawf]
verb (used without object)
  1. to drink a beverage, especially an intoxicating one, copiously and with hearty enjoyment.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to drink (a beverage) copiously and heartily: We spent the whole evening quaffing ale.
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noun
  1. an act or instance of quaffing.
  2. a beverage quaffed.
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Origin of quaff

First recorded in 1515–25; origin uncertain
Related formsquaff·er, nounout·quaff, verb (used with object)un·quaffed, adjective

Synonyms for quaff

1. swallow, gulp, swig, guzzle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for quaffed

sip, swill, imbibe, swig, gulp, guzzle, toss, partake, down, ingurgitate, sup, swallow

Examples from the Web for quaffed

Historical Examples of quaffed

  • Wherever there was a knot of midnight roisterers, they quaffed her health.

    The Sister Years (From "Twice Told Tales")

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

  • There they talked of the day's shooting as they ate their meat and quaffed their ale.

  • Yes, all his evil came from that laugh of hers which he had quaffed.

  • She quaffed the liquid, and returned the goblet to his hand.

  • I sat by the fire-end and quaffed my ale, no one saying more to me for a little than "There you are!"

    John Splendid

    Neil Munro

British Dictionary definitions for quaffed

quaff

verb
  1. to drink heartily or in one draught
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Derived Formsquaffable, adjectivequaffer, noun

Word Origin for quaff

C16: perhaps of imitative origin; compare Middle Low German quassen to eat or drink excessively
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for quaffed

quaff

v.

1510s (implied in quaffer), perhaps imitative, or perhaps from Low German quassen "to overindulge (in food and drink)," with -ss- misread as -ff-. Related: Quaffed; quaffing. The noun is attested by 1570s, from the verb.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper