• SLAYK • verb
1 : satisfy, quench 2 : to cause (as lime) to heat and crumble by treatment with water : hydrate
[Ro] a se lăsa, a potoli, a stinge, a astâmpăra
Example sentence:
What an unspeakable luxury it was to slake that thirst with the pure and limpid ice-water of the glacier!
Ce lux indescriptibil a fost de a potoli setea cu apă rece pură şi limpede de gheţar!
(Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad)
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. 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.
