Tuesday, April 26, 2011

slake

slake [sleɪk] v. t.

1.) To allay; to quench; to extinguish; as, to slake thirst.
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.
2.) To abate; to become less decided.
3.) To slacken; to become relaxed.
4.) To become mixed with water, so that a true chemical combination takes place; as, the lime slakes (GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English).

Etymology: Middle English slaken, to abate, from Old English slacian, from slæc, slack, sluggish.

"With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
We could not laugh nor wail;
Through utter drought all dumb we stood!
I bit my arm, I sucked the blood,
And cried, A sail! a sail!

With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
Agape they heard me call:
Gramercy! they for joy did grin,
And all at once their breath drew in,
As they were drinking all." (The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1798).

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I figured the pronunciation was fairly self-explanatory on this one. Thanks for reading!

22 comments:

JayPower said...

This blog slakes my interest for increasing my vocabulary! (did i use it in the right context? ;D)

-E- said...

@JayPower uhh...i guess that depends on whether you intended it to be complimentary. i would prefer it if my blog enhanced your interest for increasing your vocabulary!

Endless said...

thx for sharing!

Patti D. said...

awesome word, love the examples, very useful.

Zombie said...

I am thirsty so I shall slake my thirst with some coke! :D

Anonymous said...

thanks you for another word.

zepdragon said...

A somewhat common word with multiple situational meanings.

strawberry Princess said...

wow so nice... i like to come more often in here. being a second language speaker of english this one will help me a lot. thanks a lot.

M Pax said...

I enjoy slake. Great blog, -E-.

123 said...

Where did this word even come from? I've never heard it used in my life ;_;

D4 said...

I can use this one on a day-to-day basis. At least when I want to sound sophisticated, anyway.

Lydia Kang said...

I love this word!

Biff Tanner said...

Knowledge is power!

Kicking Rocks said...

thats a great word!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for expanding my vocabulary everyday!

Team Panda said...

I'm surprised quench is a word, i thought soda companies just made that word up. Does that mean "zesty" is a word too? haha

Danny Murphy said...

Nice word!

Bart said...

anyone ever tell u that u kinda look like paul bernardo?

Blk Jesus said...

another new one. thanks

Solsby Kid said...

I love this word, i use it all the time.... Too much infact!

-E- said...

@Bart haha no. don't know if that reference works outside canada. i'm american and i had to look it up.

G said...

cool post - following

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