slake

[sleyk] /sleɪk/
verb (used with object), slaked, slaking.
1.
to allay (thirst, desire, wrath, etc.) by satisfying.
2.
to cool or refresh:
He slaked his lips with ice.
3.
to make less active, vigorous, intense, etc.:
His calm manner slaked their enthusiasm.
4.
to cause disintegration of (lime) by treatment with water.
Compare slaked lime.
5.
Obsolete. to make loose or less tense; slacken.
verb (used without object), slaked, slaking.
6.
(of lime) to become slaked.
7.
Archaic. to become less active, intense, vigorous, etc.; abate.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English slaken to mitigate, allay, moderate, lessen one's efforts, Old English slacian to slacken, lessen one's efforts, equivalent to slæc slack1 + -ian causative verb suffix
Related forms
slakable, slakeable, adjective
slakeless, adjective
unslakable, adjective
unslakeable, adjective
unslaked, adjective
Synonyms
1. satisfy, quench, gratify, relieve.
Examples from the web for slake
  • And some of the water would continue to be used for irrigation or to slake the thirst of urban areas.
  • Room temperature, or even warmer drinks are the best way to slake thirst.
  • We have to slake our thirst for crude and invest immediately and aggressively in alternative energy sources.
  • Hundreds of new alcoholic beverages are popping up to slake a growing thirst to sip more attractive and expensive liquor.
  • The shales and siltstones are usually poor laminated and tend to air slake rapidly.
British Dictionary definitions for slake

slake

/sleɪk/
verb
1.
(transitive) (literary) to satisfy (thirst, desire, etc)
2.
(transitive) (poetic) to cool or refresh
3.
Also slack. to undergo or cause to undergo the process in which lime reacts with water or moist air to produce calcium hydroxide
4.
(archaic) to make or become less active or intense
Derived Forms
slakable, slakeable, adjective
slaker, noun
Word Origin
Old English slacian, from slæcslack1; related to Dutch slaken to diminish, Icelandic slaka
Word Origin and History for slake
v.

late Old English sleacian, slacian "become slack or remiss; slacken an effort" (intransitive); "delay, retard" (transitive), from slæc "lax" (see slack (adj.)). Transitive sense of "make slack" is from late 12c. Sense of "allay, diminish in force, quench, extinguish" (in reference to thirst, hunger, desire, wrath, etc.) first recorded early 14c. via notion of "make slack or inactive." Related: Slaked; slaking.