22 September 2014

slake

[sleyk]

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

Middle English, Old English
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.

Dictionary.com

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.

Anagram

leaks

Today’s aphorism

If you look around, complacency is the great disease of your autumn years, and I work hard to prevent that.

– Nick Cave

On this day

22 September 1913 – execution by hanging of Ernest Austin at Boggo Road Gaol. Austin was the last man to be legally executed in Queensland. He had been convicted of the rape and murder of 12 year old Ivy Mitchell at Cedar Creek Road near Samford. Austin is buried in South Brisbane Cemetry. It is said that his ghost haunts Boggo Road Gaol. Queensland abolished the death penalty in 1922, becoming the first Australian state to do so.

22 September 1957 – birth of Nick Cave in Warracknabeal, Victoria (Australia). Australian gothic/alternative musician. Frontman of ‘The Birthday Party’ and ‘Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’, also having a successful solo career. In 2006, he formed ‘Grinderman’, an alternative rock band which disbanded in 2011.

22 September 2890 – birth of Bilbo Baggins, Hobbit, born in the Shire. Star of the iconic novel, ‘The Hobbit‘, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Bilbo also features in Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings‘. Note, his birthday is in the year 2890 in the Third Age or in the year 1290 in Shire-Reckoning). There is some disparity between Shire-Reckoning and the Gregorian calendar. Some believe that 12 September is the comparative Gregorian date, others believe 14 September is the Gregorian date to celebrate Bilbo’s birthday, as explained in one of the appendices to Lord of the Rings.

22 September 2968 – birth of Frodo Baggins, Hobbit, born in the shire. Nephew of legendary hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, with whom he shares his birthday. Star of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings‘. His birthday is in the year 2968 in the Third Age, or in the year 1368 in Shire-Reckoning). As Bilbo celebrated his eleventy-first (111th) birthday, Frodo was celebrating his 33rd birthday, which is the age at which a hobbit legally comes of age.