In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
slack, slake
(verb) cause to heat and crumble by treatment with water; “slack lime”
slake, abate, slack
(verb) make less active or intense
quench, slake, allay, assuage
(verb) satisfy (thirst); “The cold water quenched his thirst”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
slake (third-person singular simple present slakes, present participle slaking, simple past and past participle slaked)
(transitive) To satisfy (thirst, or other desires). [from 14thc.]
Synonyms: quench, extinguish
(transitive) To cool (something) with water or another liquid. [from 14thc.]
(intransitive) To become mixed with water, so that a true chemical combination takes place.
(transitive) To mix with water, so that a true chemical combination takes place.
(intransitive, obsolete) Of a person: to become less energetic, to slacken in one's efforts. [11th-17thc.]
(intransitive, obsolete) To slacken; to become relaxed or loose. [11th-16thc.]
(intransitive, obsolete) To become less intense; to weaken, decrease in force. [14th-19thc.]
(intransitive, obsolete) To go out; to become extinct.
slake (third-person singular simple present slakes, present participle slaking, simple past and past participle slaked)
(transitive, Scotland) To besmear.
slake (plural slakes)
(Scotland) A sloppy mess.
• LASEK, Lakes, Leaks, kales, lakes, leaks
Source: Wiktionary
Slake, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Slaked; p. pr. & vb. n. Slaking.] Etym: [OE. slaken to render slack, to slake, AS. sleacian, fr. sleac slack. See Slack, v. & a.]
1. To allay; to quench; to extinguish; as, to slake thirst. "And slake the heavenly fire." Spenser. It could not slake mine ire nor ease my heart. Shak.
2. To mix with water, so that a true chemical combination shall take place; to slack; as, to slake lime.
Slake, v. i.
1. To go out; to become extinct. "His flame did slake." Sir T. Browne.
2. To abate; to become less decided. [R.] Shak.
3. To slacken; to become relaxed. "When the body's strongest sinews slake." [R.] Sir J. Davies.
4. To become mixed with water, so that a true chemical combination takes place; as, the lime slakes. Slake trough, a trough containing water in which a blacksmith cools a forging or tool.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
23 June 2025
(noun) members of a family line; “his people have been farmers for generations”; “are your people still alive?”
In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.