From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Quench \Quench\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Quenched}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Quenching}.] [OE. quenchen, AS. cwencan in [=a]cwencan, to
extinguish utterly, causative of cwincan, [=a]cwincan, to
decrease, disappear; cf. AS. cw[imac]nan, [=a]cw[imac]nan, 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.
[1913 Webster]
Ere our blood shall quench that fire. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
The supposition of the lady's death
Will quench the wonder of her infamy. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. To cool suddenly, as heated steel, in tempering.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: To extinguish; still; stifle; allay; cool; check.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
quenching
n 1: the act of extinguishing; causing to stop burning; "the
extinction of the lights" [syn: {extinction},
{extinguishing}, {quenching}]
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