drench

Middle English drenchen, from Old English drenċan, from Proto-Germanic *drankijaną (compare Dutch drenken ‘to get a drink’, German tränken ‘to water, give a drink’), causative of *drinkaną (“to drink”). More at drink.

• IPA^(key): /dɹɛntʃ/
• Rhymes: -ɛntʃ

drench (plural drenches)

1. A draught administered to an animal.
   • William Shakespeare

     Give my roan horse a drench.

2. (obsolete) A drink; a draught; specifically, a potion of medicine poured or forced down the throat; also, a potion that causes purging.
   • John Dryden

     A drench of wine has with success been us'd,
     And through a horn the gen'rous juice infus'd,
     Which, timely taken, op'd his closing jaws,
     But, if too late, the patient's death did cause.

   • Mark Twain, Christian Science and the Book of Mrs. Eddy

     I took up the 'Christian Scientist' book and read half of it, then took a dipperful of drench and read the other half.

drench (third-person singular simple present drenches, present participle drenching, simple past and past participle drenched)

1. To soak, to make very wet.
   • Dryden

     Now dam the ditches and the floods restrain; / Their moisture has already drenched the plain.

2. To cause to drink; especially, to dose (e.g. a horse) with medicine by force.

• drenched

From Middle English dreng, from Old English dreng (“warrior, soldier”), from Proto-Germanic *drangijaz, cognate to Old Norse drengr.

drench (plural drenches)

1. (obsolete, Britain) A military vassal, mentioned in the Domesday Book.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Burrill to this entry?)