slake
[ sleyk ]
/ sleɪk /
verb (used with object), slaked, slak·ing.
verb (used without object), slaked, slak·ing.
(of lime) to become slaked.
Archaic. to become less active, intense, vigorous, etc.; abate.
RELATED WORDS
quench, assuage, appease, satisfy, gratify, mitigate, loose, slack, subdue, relax, lessen, relaxed, relieve, reduce, refresh, crumble, compose, abate, disintegrate, allay
Nearby words
Origin of slake
before 1000; Middle English slaken to mitigate, allay, moderate, lessen one's efforts, Old English slacian to slacken, lessen one's efforts, equivalent to slæc slack1 + -ian causative verb suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for slake
slake
/ (sleɪk) /
verb
(tr) literary to satisfy (thirst, desire, etc)
(tr) poetic to cool or refresh
Also: slack to undergo or cause to undergo the process in which lime reacts with water or moist air to produce calcium hydroxide
archaic to make or become less active or intense
Word Origin for slake
Old English slacian, from slæc slack 1; related to Dutch slaken to diminish, Icelandic slaka
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
slake
late Old English sleacian, slacian "become slack or remiss; slacken an effort" (intransitive); "delay, retard" (transitive), from slæc "lax" (see slack (adj.)). Transitive sense of "make slack" is from late 12c. Sense of "allay, diminish in force, quench, extinguish" (in reference to thirst, hunger, desire, wrath, etc.) first recorded early 14c. via notion of "make slack or inactive." Related: Slaked; slaking.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper