|
slake: msg#00020culture.language.word-of-the-day
***************************************************************** Discover the people and events that made history ON THIS DAY. Sign up for the free daily newsletter from Britannica. http://register.britannica.com/mailinglist ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for October 22 is: slake \SLAYK\ verb *1 : satisfy, quench 2 : to cause (as lime) to heat and crumble by treatment with water : hydrate Example sentence: "What an unspeakable luxury it was to slake that thirst with the pure and limpid ice-water of the glacier!" (Mark Twain, _A Tramp Abroad_) Did you know? "Slake" is no slacker when it comes to obsolete and archaic meanings. Shakespearean scholars may know that in the Bard's day "slake" meant "to subside or abate" ("No flood by raining slaketh...." -- _The Rape of Lucrece_) or "to lessen the force of " ("It could not slake mine ire, nor ease my heart." -- _Henry VI, Part 3_). The most erudite word enthusiasts may also be aware of earlier meanings of "slake," such as "to slacken one's efforts" or "to cause to be relaxed or loose." These early meanings recall the word's Old English ancestor "sleac," which not only meant "slack" but is also the source of that modern term. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
|
| <Prev in Thread] | Current Thread | [Next in Thread> |
|---|---|---|
| Previous by Date: | matriculate: 00020, word |
|---|---|
| Next by Date: | argosy: 00020, word |
| Previous by Thread: | matriculatei: 00020, word |
| Next by Thread: | argosy: 00020, word |
| Indexes: | [Date] [Thread] [Top] [All Lists] |
| News | FAQ | advertise |