drench
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drench¹
- /dɹɛnt͡ʃ/ US, UK
- /dɹɪ̟nt͡ʃ/
Rhymes with -ɛntʃ
Where it comes from
From Middle English drench, drenche (“beverage, drink; cup of drink, specifically a poisoned drink; medicinal potion, specifically an emetic (?)”) [and other forms], from Old English drenċ (“drink; draft, potion; dose (of medicine, poison, etc.)”), from Proto-West Germanic *dranki, from Proto-Germanic *drankiz (“drink; potion; dose”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrenǵ- (“to draw, pull; to gulp; to sip”). Doublet of drink (noun).
Cognates
* Gothic 𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌺 (draggk), 𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌺 (dragk, “beverage, drink”)
* Old Dutch *dranc, (Middle Dutch dranc, modern Dutch drank (“beverage, drink”))
* Old High German tranc, tranch (Middle High German tranc, modern German Trank (“drink; potion”))
* Old Saxon dranc
noun drenches
- A dose or draught of liquid medicine (especially one causing sleepiness) taken by a person; specifically, a (large) dose, or one forced or poured down the throat. [T]hey need not carry ſuch an unvvorthy ſuſpicion over the Preachers of Gods vvord, as to tutor their unſoundneſſe vvith the Abcie of a Liturgy, or to diet their ignorance, and vvant of care, vvith the limited draught of a Mattin, and even ſong drench.
- A dose or draught of liquid medicine administered to an animal. O my ſvveet Harry ſaies ſhe! hovv manie haſt thou kild to day? Giue my roane horſe a drench (ſayes hee) and aunſvveres ſome foureteene, an houre after: a trifle, a trifle.
drench²
- /dɹɛnt͡ʃ/ US, UK
- /dɹɪ̟nt͡ʃ/
Rhymes with -ɛntʃ
Where it comes from
The verb is derived from Middle English drenchen, drench (“to drown; to flood, inundate; to consume (drink or food); to give (someone) a drink; to poison (someone) with a drink; to immerse, soak, drench; to descend, fall, sink; to penetrate, permeate; (figurative) to engulf, overwhelm”) [and other forms], from Old English drenċan (“to give (someone) a drink; to immerse, soak, drench”), from Proto-West Germanic *drankijan, from Proto-Germanic *drankijaną (“to cause (someone) to drink”), the causative of *drinkaną (“to drink”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrenǵ- (“to draw, pull; to gulp; to sip”). Doublet of drink (verb).
The noun is derived from the verb (etymology 2, verb sense 1.2).
Cognates
* Old High German trenchen (modern German tränken (“to give a drink; to water”))
* Old Norse drekkja, drenkja (Swedish dränka)
* Old Saxon dręnkian (Dutch drenke (“to get a drink”))
verb drenches · drenching · drenched · drench
- To cause (someone) to drink; to provide (someone) with a drink. Pork ſucceeds to Beef, Pies to Puddings: The Cloth is remov'd, Madam, drench'd vvith a Bumper, drops a Courtſey, and departs; […]
- To administer a dose or draught of liquid medicine to (an animal), often by force.
- To make (someone or something) completely wet by having water or some other liquid fall or thrown on them or it; to saturate, to soak; also (archaic), to make (someone or something) completely wet by immersing in water or some other liquid; to soak, to steep. That our Garments being (as they were) drencht in the Sea, hold notwithſtanding their freſhneſſe and gloſſes, being rather new dy'de then ſtain'd with ſalte water.
- To drown (someone). VVhat flames (q[uo]d he) vvhen I thee preſent ſee, / In daunger rather to be drent, then brent?
- To overwhelm (someone); to drown, to engulf.
- To be drowned; also, to be immersed in water. Alas, now drencheth my ſwete fo, / That with the ſpoyle of my hart did go, / And left me but (alas) why did he ſo?
noun drenches
- An act of making someone or something completely wet; a soak or soaking, a wetting. Whenever it was the thought first struck him / How Death, at unawares, might duck him / Deeper than the grave, and quench / The gin-shop's light in Hell's grim drench […]
- An amount of water or some other liquid that will make someone or something completely wet.
Translations
Every language
verb to make (someone or something) completely wet by having water or some other liquid fall or thrown on them or it — see also saturate, soak
| 日本語 | 浸す hitasu |
|---|---|
| Português | encharcar, ensopar |
| Français | abreuver, saturer, tremper |
| Deutsch | durchnässen |
| Italiano | bagnare, infradiciare |
| Русский | промачивать promačivatʹ, пропи́тывать propítyvatʹ, пропита́ть propitátʹ |
| العربية | بَلَّلَ ballala, نَقَعَ naqaʕa |
Talk about this word "drench." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/drench. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. drench. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/drench "drench." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/drench.Cite this
@misc{drench_2026,
title = {drench},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/drench},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
