From Middle English quenchen, from Old English cwenċan, from Proto-Germanic *kwankijaną.
Meanings
The act of quenching something; the fact of being quenched.
Then the MacManus [i.e. a ship] went down. The sudden quench of the white light was how I knew it. 1965 [1949], Saul Bellow, The Adventures of Augie March, New York: Random House, Inc., page 495:
The abnormal termination of operation of a superconducting magnet, occurring when part of the superconducting coil enters the normal (resistive) state.
There are two main types of quenches, and both are triggered by the red button. A customer of ours actually pushed his once, out of curiosity. And no, he was not 7 years old. This button is primarily for safety purposes. In some rare cases, clear signage is ignored and metal objects like mop buckets, oxygen tanks, etc. get sucked into the bore of the MRI. These are very difficult to remove while the magnet is at field. And, if a patient is somehow pinned inside, an emergency push of the quench button can be a lifesaver. The button artificially heats the magnet and starts the chain reaction described above. 2019 June 13, Steve Rentz, “What Is an MRI Quench?”, in Block Imaging, archived from the original on 20 Nov 2022:
A rapid change of the parameters of a physical system.
From Middle English quenchen, from Old English cwenċan, from Proto-Germanic *kwankijaną.
Meanings
(transitive) To satisfy, especially a literal or figurative thirst.
The wearie Traueiler, wandring that way, / Therein did often quench his thriſty heat, / And then by it his wearie limbes diſplay, / Whiles creeping ſlomber made him to forget[…] 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 254:
I began also to feel very hungry, as not having eaten for twenty-four hours; and worse than that, there was a parching thirst and dryness in my throat, and nothing with which to quench it. [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:
The library quenched her thirst for knowledge.
(transitive) To extinguish or put out (as a fire or light).
[…] others ſaying, the fire would ceaſe as ſoon as it had vent, uncovered a great part of the houſe, breaking down the roofs, and destroying all that ſtood in their way. None of them went about to quench the fire, but all were employed in pulling down the houſe, […] 1798, Francisco de Quevedo, anonymous translator, Fortune in Her Wits, and the Hour of All Men, volume 3, Edinburgh, translation of La fortuna con seso, y La hora de todos (in Spanish), pages 130–131:
“From here you will see which one of us two stands up...when the fiery vomit is quenched.” 1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 44:
(transitive) To cool rapidly by direct contact with liquid coolant, as a blacksmith quenching hot iron.
The swordsmith quenched the sword in an oil bath so that it wouldn't shatter.
(transitive) To terminate or greatly diminish (a chemical reaction) by destroying or deforming the remaining reagents.
(transitive) To rapidly change the parameters of a physical system.
A suitable method to prepare a system out of equilibrium in order to study the ensuing dynamics is to quench the system, i.e., to change its parameters abruptly. 2018, P. Bleicker and G. S. Uhrig, “Strong quenches in the one-dimensional Fermi-Hubbard model”, in Physical Review A, volume 98, →DOI, page 1:
(transitive) To rapidly terminate the operation of a superconducting electromagnet by causing part or all of the magnet's windings to enter the normal, resistive state.
These knobs are generally mounted behind a cover of some sort, to prevent someone from leaning up against them or putting a philodendron on top of them, because (1) that aforementioned geyser can represent thousands to tens of thousands of dollars of helium these days, and (2) quenching is Not Good for the integrity of the magnet, and in the worse^([sic]) case you might find yourself with a lot of high-quality scrap metal. 2015 May 15, Derek Lowe, “Quenching NMRs, Accidentally and On Purpose”, in In the Pipeline, archived from the original on 20 Nov 2022:
If someone is pinned against the MRI magnet by a ferromagnetic object, you may need to quench the magnet in order to free them.
uk швидко охолоджувати (to cool rapidly by immersion) · fi sammuttaa (chemistry: to terminate a reaction) · fr désaltérer (to satisfy thirst) · bg закалявам (to cool rapidly by immersion) · lb läschen (to extinguish or put out) · es templar (to cool rapidly by immersion) · ga cosc (to satisfy thirst) · nl verglimmen (to extinguish or put out) · es enfriar con agua (to cool rapidly by immersion) · uk вгамо́вувати (to satisfy thirst) · bnt-phu nyorulla (to satisfy thirst) · pt matar a sede (to satisfy thirst) · de abschrecken (to cool rapidly by immersion) · grc μαραίνω (to extinguish or put out) · lt gesinti (to extinguish or put out) · nb lekke (to satisfy thirst) · fr rassasier (to satisfy thirst) · mk гасне (to extinguish or put out) · ru удовлетвори́ть (to satisfy thirst) · da slukke (to extinguish or put out) · txb käs- (to extinguish or put out) · km ស្កប់ស្កល់ (to satisfy thirst) · grc παίω (to satisfy thirst) · az doymaq (to satisfy thirst) · pl ugasić (to extinguish or put out) · yue 淬火 (to cool rapidly by immersion) · ru удовлетворя́ть (to satisfy thirst) · it dissetare (to satisfy thirst) · eu ase (to satisfy thirst) · hu csillapít (to satisfy thirst) · ady хэгъэон (to cool rapidly by immersion) · rup astingu (to extinguish or put out) · es apagar (to extinguish or put out) · de stillen (to satisfy thirst) · xto käs- (to extinguish or put out) · la exstinguō (to extinguish or put out) · ru напива́ться (to satisfy thirst) · egy H-t:tm-m-G38-nDs (to satisfy thirst) · fi sammuttaa (to satisfy thirst) · gv moogh (to cool rapidly by immersion) · sh утажи́вати (to satisfy thirst) · sh ugásiti (to satisfy thirst) · pt temperar (aço) (to cool rapidly by immersion) · hy մխել (to cool rapidly by immersion) · el αποσβήνω (to extinguish or put out) · sh utažívati (to satisfy thirst) · qu thasnuy (to extinguish or put out) · ru напи́ться (to satisfy thirst) · oc levar (to satisfy thirst) · uk пога́сити (to extinguish or put out) · eo malsoifigi (to satisfy thirst) · sv släcka (to extinguish or put out) · pl gasić (to extinguish or put out) · mi whakapoko (to extinguish or put out) · sv släcka (to satisfy thirst) · hu elver (to satisfy thirst) · ru утоля́ть (to satisfy thirst) · nb slukke (to extinguish or put out) · xcl շիջուցանեմ (to extinguish or put out) · cmn 解渴 (to satisfy thirst) · fi sammuttaa (to extinguish or put out) · br divalbiñ (to satisfy thirst) · eo malsoifiĝi (to satisfy thirst) · is svala (to satisfy thirst) · mi whakanā (to satisfy thirst) · el σβήνω (to extinguish or put out) · pl ugaszać (to extinguish or put out) · fr apaiser (to satisfy thirst) · oc estancar (to satisfy thirst) · sh utážiti (to satisfy thirst) · sh уга́сити (to satisfy thirst) · sh utòliti (to satisfy thirst) · io extingar (to extinguish or put out) · mi tini (to extinguish or put out) · ru потуши́ть (to extinguish or put out) · cs hasit (to satisfy thirst) · io sendurstigar (to satisfy thirst) · la restinguō (to extinguish or put out) · fi karkaista (to cool rapidly by immersion) · te ఆర్చు (to extinguish or put out) · gl saciar (to satisfy thirst) · pl gasić pragnienie (to satisfy thirst) · ru туши́ть (to extinguish or put out) · hu olt (to extinguish or put out) · ga múch (to cool rapidly by immersion) · vo säsoafükön (to satisfy thirst) · ka ჩაქრობა (to extinguish or put out) · cmn 淬火 (to cool rapidly by immersion) · nb bråkjøle (to cool rapidly by immersion) · km បន្ធូរ (to satisfy thirst) · cs hasit (chemistry: to terminate a reaction) · sh напи́јати (to satisfy thirst) · gd caisg (to satisfy thirst) · pt resfriar (to cool rapidly by immersion) · hy հագեցնել (to satisfy thirst) · it appagare (to satisfy thirst) · pt saciar (to satisfy thirst) · el ξεδιψώ (to satisfy thirst) · grc σβέννυμι (to extinguish or put out) · de ablöschen (to extinguish or put out) · sv läska (to satisfy thirst) · cmn 熞 /𰞤 (to cool rapidly by immersion) · xcl մխեմ (to cool rapidly by immersion) · pl zgasić (to extinguish or put out) · la extinguō (to extinguish or put out) · sh utŕnuti (to extinguish or put out) · sh ута́жити (to satisfy thirst) · eo sensoifigi (to satisfy thirst) · mk закали (to cool rapidly by immersion) · de auslöschen (to extinguish or put out) · enm stranglen (to extinguish or put out) · nl blussen (to extinguish or put out) · fr étancher (to satisfy thirst) · sh káliti (to cool rapidly by immersion) · ga fuaraigh (to cool rapidly by immersion) · ka წყურვილის მოკვლა (to satisfy thirst) · mi kōpiro (to cool rapidly by immersion) · de löschen (to satisfy thirst) · pt apagar (to extinguish or put out) · is slökkva (to satisfy thirst) · de quenchen (chemistry: to terminate a reaction) · bg гася (to extinguish or put out) · de abkühlen (to cool rapidly by immersion) · tr söndürmek (to extinguish or put out) · ta அணை (to extinguish or put out) · it estinguere (to satisfy thirst) · egy a:x-m-Q7 (to extinguish or put out) · es matar la sed (to satisfy thirst) · bm mìn (to satisfy thirst) · mk закалува (to cool rapidly by immersion) · nn sløkkja (to extinguish or put out) · sh napíjati (to satisfy thirst) · km ឆ្អែត (to satisfy thirst) · sh ка́лити (to cool rapidly by immersion) · hak 解渴 (to satisfy thirst) · dum blusschen (to extinguish or put out) · nl afkoelen (to cool rapidly by immersion) · nl lessen (to satisfy thirst) · pl wygasić (to extinguish or put out) · ca sadollar (to satisfy thirst) · oc atudar (to satisfy thirst) · cu гасити (to satisfy thirst) · de löschen (to extinguish or put out) · hu kiolt (to extinguish or put out) · yue 解渴 (to satisfy thirst) · eo estingi (to extinguish or put out) · it spegnere (to satisfy thirst) · sh ugásiti (to extinguish or put out) · it smorzare (to satisfy thirst) · de verlöschen (to extinguish or put out) · mt seqa (to satisfy thirst) · gl apagar (to extinguish or put out) · tr (susuzluğu) gidermek (to satisfy thirst) · is væta kverkarnar (to satisfy thirst) · ar أَنْقَعَ (to cool rapidly by immersion) · yue 蘸火 (to cool rapidly by immersion) · xh qabula (to extinguish or put out) · pl wygaszać (to extinguish or put out) · ca trempar (to cool rapidly by immersion) · it temperare (to cool rapidly by immersion) · ga múch (to extinguish or put out) · sh уто̀лити (to satisfy thirst) · nl verblinken (to extinguish or put out) · sh уга́сити (to extinguish or put out) · it smorzare (to extinguish or put out) · it estinguere (to extinguish or put out) · gv east (to satisfy thirst) · is slökkva (to extinguish or put out) · es aplacar (to satisfy thirst) · hi बुझाना (to extinguish or put out) · cs kalit (to cool rapidly by immersion) · bg утолявам (to satisfy thirst) · ro stingee (to extinguish or put out) · yue 止渴 (to satisfy thirst) · mi tinei (to extinguish or put out) · pt extinguir (to extinguish or put out) · gv moogh (to extinguish or put out) · sh gásiti (to extinguish or put out) · ang dwǣsċan (to extinguish or put out) · ru утоли́ть (to satisfy thirst) · cs uhasit (to extinguish or put out) · yi לעשן (to extinguish or put out) · sh utoljívati (to satisfy thirst) · es enfriar en agua (to cool rapidly by immersion) · lt numalšinti (to satisfy thirst) · nl schrikken (to cool rapidly by immersion) · gl matar (to extinguish or put out) · sh nàpiti (to satisfy thirst) · cmn 蘸火 (to cool rapidly by immersion) · he הִרְוָה (to satisfy thirst) · nan-hbl 止渴 (to satisfy thirst) · sh утољи́вати (to satisfy thirst) · fo sløkkja (to extinguish or put out) · zu cisha (to extinguish or put out) · uk гартувати (to cool rapidly by immersion) · kum сёндюрмек (to extinguish or put out) · aii ܡܟ̰ܡܥ (to extinguish or put out) · fr tremper (to cool rapidly by immersion) · gd bàth (to satisfy thirst) · eo sensoifiĝi (to satisfy thirst) · eu itzali (to extinguish or put out) · cmn 止渴 (to satisfy thirst) · es abrevar (to satisfy thirst) · hu elolt (to extinguish or put out) · sh утр́нути (to extinguish or put out) · tr soğutmak (to cool rapidly by immersion) · ca assaciar (to satisfy thirst) · sh га́сити (to extinguish or put out) · da slukke (to satisfy thirst) · it levarsi (to satisfy thirst) · fr éteindre (to extinguish or put out) · hu lehűt (to cool rapidly by immersion) · yue 熞 /𰞤 (to cool rapidly by immersion) · uk вгамува́ти (to satisfy thirst) · nl uitdoven (to extinguish or put out) · uk га́сити (to extinguish or put out) · cs hasit (to extinguish or put out) · ang cwenċan (to extinguish or put out) · cs zakalit (to cool rapidly by immersion) · it cavarsi (to satisfy thirst) · el σβήνω (to satisfy thirst) · nn sløkkja (to satisfy thirst) · xcl հարկանեմ (to satisfy thirst) · sga ardíbdai (to extinguish or put out) · sh на̀пити (to satisfy thirst) · dum lesschen (to extinguish or put out) · ta அவி (to extinguish or put out) · it abbeverare (to satisfy thirst) · ru охлажда́ть (to cool rapidly by immersion) · hu olt (to satisfy thirst) · no slukke (to satisfy thirst) · te దాహముతీర్చు (to satisfy thirst) · lt malšinti (to satisfy thirst) · hak 止渴 (to satisfy thirst) · ang ādwǣsċan (to extinguish or put out)