In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
QUENCH
quench
(verb) cool (hot metal) by plunging into cold water or other liquid; “quench steel”
quench
(verb) reduce the degree of (luminescence or phosphorescence) in (excited molecules or a material) by adding a suitable substance
squelch, quell, quench
(verb) suppress or crush completely; “squelch any sign of dissent”; “quench a rebellion”
quench, slake, allay, assuage
(verb) satisfy (thirst); “The cold water quenched his thirst”
quench
(verb) electronics: suppress (sparking) when the current is cut off in an inductive circuit, or suppress (an oscillation or discharge) in a component or device
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
quench (third-person singular simple present quenches, present participle quenching, simple past and past participle quenched)
(transitive) To satisfy, especially an actual or figurative thirst.
Synonyms: appease, slake
(transitive) To extinguish or put out (as a fire or light).
(transitive, metallurgy) To cool rapidly by dipping into a bath of coolant, as a blacksmith quenching hot iron.
(transitive, chemistry) To terminate or greatly diminish (a chemical reaction) by destroying or deforming the remaining reagents.
(transitive, physics) To rapidly change the parameters of a physical system.
Noun
quench (plural quenches)
(physics) The abnormal termination of operation of a superconducting magnet, occurring when part of the superconducting coil enters the normal (resistive) state.
(physics) A rapid change of the parameters of a physical system.
Source: Wiktionary
Quench, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Quenched; p. pr. & vb. n. Quenching.] Etym: [OE. quenchen, AS. cwencan in acwencan, to extinguish utterly, causative of cwincan, acwincan, to decrease, disappear; cf. AS. cwinan, acwinan, to waste or dwindle away.]
1. To extinguish; to overwhelm; to make an end of; -- said of flame and fire, of things burning, and figuratively of sensations and emotions; as, to quench flame; to quench a candle; to quench thirst, love, hate, etc. Ere our blood shall quench that fire. Shak. The supposition of the lady's death Will quench the wonder of her infamy. Shak.
2. To cool suddenly, as heated steel, in tempering.
Syn.
– To extinguish; still; stifle; allay; cool; check.
Quench, v. i.
Definition: To become extinguished; to go out; to become calm or cool. [R.] Dost thou think in time She will not quench! Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
14 May 2025
TERNARY
(adjective) having three units or components or elements; “a ternary operation”; “a treble row of red beads”; “overcrowding made triple sessions necessary”; “triple time has three beats per measure”; “triplex windows”
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