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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

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

Related Words

sipswillimbibeswiggulpguzzletosspartakedowningurgitatesupswallow

Examples from the Web for quaffing

Historical Examples

  • It was quaffing from the fountain-head, not from streams of the imitation of imitation.

    The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 103, May, 1866

    Various

  • Quaffing nectar at mess with gods golden dishes, all ambrosial.

    Ulysses

    James Joyce

  • The patriarchal Bacchus quaffing in his antediluvian vineyard!

  • To an onlooker they appear to be quaffing the flattest part of the sport, having missed all its head and froth.

    The Thames

    G. E. Mitton

  • Quaffing it down, and betaking himself to bed, under its somniferous influence, the Wye waterman is soon in the land of dreams.

    Gwen Wynn

    Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for quaffing

quaff

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

Word Origin

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 quaffing

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