stanch

[stawnch, stanch, stahnch]

verb (used with object)

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

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

Archaic. to check, allay, or extinguish.

verb (used without object)

to stop flowing, as blood; be stanched.

noun

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

Also staunch.

Origin of stanch

1275–1325; Middle English stanchen, staunchen (v.) < Old French estanchier to close, stop, slake (thirst) < Vulgar Latin *stanticāre, equivalent to Latin stant- (stem of stāns, present participle of stāre to stand) + -icāre causative suffix

Related formsstanch·a·ble, adjectivestanch·er, nounun·stanch·a·ble, adjective

stanch

[stawnch, stahnch, stanch]

adjective, stanch·er, stanch·est.

staunch².

Related formsstanch·ly, adverbstanch·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stanch

Contemporary Examples of stanch

A neighbor tried in vain to stanch the bleeding with a towel.
Chicago’s Gun-Toting Gang Girl: ‘Lil Snoop’
Michael Daly
April 29, 2014
In a swift move to stanch the controversy, Governor Rockefeller demanded the piece be removed.
The Most Wanted Warhol: A Scandal at the 1964 World’s Fair
Jessica Dawson
April 25, 2014
But Clapper has also failed fundamentally to stanch the leakage of secrets so emblematic of his tenure atop the community.
Spy Chief James Clapper: We Can’t Stop Another Snowden
Eli Lake
February 24, 2014
The Obama administration began 2009 with an aggressive stimulus to stanch the rapid deterioration of the economy.
Larry Summers’ Impossible Stimulus Dream
Zachary Karabell
June 14, 2011

Historical Examples of stanch

She was a stanch five-year-old, and she had roamed the mountains about Pop's place at will.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
The Forward will be a stanch ship and she will carry good engines.
The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras
Jules Verne
After all, he was a stanch friend, and he braved no common dangers in his pursuit.
Tony Butler
Charles James Lever
She reserved articles she presented to her stanch friend, Kate O'Brien.
The Masked Bridal
Mrs. Georgie Sheldon
Meanwhile we laid him on his bed, and I did what I could to stanch the bleeding and ease his suffering.
Kilgorman
Talbot Baines Reed

British Dictionary definitions for stanch

stanch

staunch (stɔːntʃ)

verb

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

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

an archaic word for assuage

noun

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

Derived Formsstanchable or staunchable, adjectivestancher or stauncher, noun

Word Origin for stanch

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

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 stanch

"to stop the flow of" (especially of blood), c.1300, from Old French estanchier "cause to cease flowing, stop, hinder," from Vulgar Latin *stancare, perhaps contracted from *stagnicare, from Latin stagnum "pond, pool" (see stagnate).