stanch

¹

Also staunch

[stawnch, stanch, stahnch]

verb (used with object)

1. to stop the flow of (a liquid, especially blood).

2. to stop the flow of blood or other liquid from (a wound, leak, etc.).

3. Archaic.,  to check, allay, or extinguish.

verb (used without object)

1. to stop flowing, as blood; be stanched.

noun

1. Also called navigation weir. Also called flash-lock. a lock that, after being partially emptied, is opened suddenly to send a boat over a shallow place with a rush of water.

stanch

²

[stawnch, stahnch, stanch]

adjective

stancher, stanchest 

1. staunch.

stanch

/ stɑːntʃ, stɔːntʃ /

verb

1. to stem the flow of (a liquid, esp blood) or (of a liquid) to stop flowing

2. to prevent the flow of a liquid, esp blood, from (a hole, wound, etc)

3. an archaic word for assuage

noun

1. a primitive form of lock in which boats are carried over shallow parts of a river in a rush of water released by the lock

Other Word Forms

• stanchable adjective
• stancher noun
• unstanchable adjective
• stanchly adverb
• stanchness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of stanch¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English stanchen, staunchen (verb) < Old French estanchier “to close, stop, slake (thirst),” from Vulgar Latin stanticāre (unattested), equivalent to Latin stant- (stem of stāns, present participle of stāre to stand ) + -icāre causative suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of stanch¹

C14: from Old French estanchier , from Vulgar Latin stanticāre (unattested) to cause to stand, from Latin stāre to stand, halt

Example Sentences

Parentez said Martinez drove herself to a nearby auto shop, where employees used shop towels to stanch her wounds until paramedics arrived.

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Whether the arrival of her cubs will stanch the bear’s wanderlust is anyone’s guess.

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It was a desperate entreaty to U.S. officials to stanch the so-called Iron River, the southbound flow of arms that was fueling record levels of carnage in Mexico.

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Each week seems to bring fresh chaos as Trump ratchets up pressure on Mexico to topple the cartels and stanch the flow of fentanyl.

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And she undoubtedly thought her job performance would be judged on her ability to stanch the exposed suffering on L.A.’s streets.

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