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quench

[kwench]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to slake, satisfy, or allay (thirst, desires, passion, etc.).
  2. to put out or extinguish (fire, flames, etc.).
  3. to cool suddenly by plunging into a liquid, as in tempering steel by immersion in water.
  4. to subdue or destroy; overcome; quell: to quench an uprising.
  5. Electronics. to terminate (the flow of electrons in a vacuum tube) by application of a voltage.
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Origin of quench

1150–1200; Middle English quenchen, earlier cwenken; compare Old English -cwencan in ācwencan to quench (cf. a-3)
Related formsquench·a·ble, adjectivequench·a·ble·ness, nounquench·er, nounun·quench·a·ble, adjectiveun·quenched, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for quench

quench

verb (tr)
  1. to satisfy (one's thirst, desires, etc); slake
  2. to put out (a fire, flame, etc); extinguish
  3. to put down or quell; suppressto quench a rebellion
  4. to cool (hot metal) by plunging it into cold water
  5. physics to reduce the degree of (luminescence or phosphorescence) in (excited molecules or a material) by adding a suitable substance
  6. electronics
    1. to suppress (sparking) when the current is cut off in an inductive circuit
    2. to suppress (an oscillation or discharge) in a component or device
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Derived Formsquenchable, adjectivequencher, nounquenchless, adjective

Word Origin

Old English ācwencan to extinguish; related to Old Frisian quinka to vanish
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 quench

v.

Old English acwencan "to quench" (of fire, light), from Proto-Germanic *cwandjan, probably a causative form of root of Old English cwincan "to go out, be extinguished," Old Frisian kwinka. Related: Quenched; quenching.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper