quench

[kwench]

verb (used with object)

to slake, satisfy, or allay (thirst, desires, passion, etc.).
to put out or extinguish (fire, flames, etc.).
to cool suddenly by plunging into a liquid, as in tempering steel by immersion in water.

to subdue or destroy; overcome; quell: to quench an uprising.
Electronics. to terminate (the flow of electrons in a vacuum tube) by application of a voltage.

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

Examples from the Web for quenchable

Historical Examples of quenchable

Stop it, ye Constitutional Patriots; fire itself is quenchable, yet only quenchable at first!
The French Revolution
Thomas Carlyle

British Dictionary definitions for quenchable

quench

verb (tr)

to satisfy (one's thirst, desires, etc); slake
to put out (a fire, flame, etc); extinguish
to put down or quell; suppressto quench a rebellion
to cool (hot metal) by plunging it into cold water
physics to reduce the degree of (luminescence or phosphorescence) in (excited molecules or a material) by adding a suitable substance
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

Derived Formsquenchable, adjectivequencher, nounquenchless, adjective

Word Origin for quench

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 quenchable

quench

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.