Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
Quell — Quell, v. t. [OE. quellen to kill, AS. cwellan, causative of cwelan to die; akin to OHG. quellen to torment, Icel. kvelja. See {Quail} to cower.] 1. To take the life of; to kill. [Obs.] Spenser. [1913 Webster] The ducks cried as [if] men would… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Quell — Quell, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Quelled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Quelling}.] [See {Quail} to cower.] [1913 Webster] 1. To die. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Yet he did quake and quaver, like to quell. Spenser. [1913 Webster] 2. To be subdued or abated; to yield;… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
quell — [kwel] v [T] formal [: Old English; Origin: cwellan to kill ] 1.) to end a situation in which people are behaving violently or protesting, especially by using force = ↑put down quell the violence/disturbance/riot etc ▪ Police used live ammunition … Dictionary of contemporary English
quell — quell·able; quell·er; quell; … English syllables
Quell — Quell, n. Murder. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
quell — [ kwel ] verb transitive FORMAL 1. ) to cause a violent situation to end: Mounted police were called in to quell the riot. 2. ) MAINLY LITERARY to get rid of unpleasant thoughts or feelings, or prevent them from becoming stronger … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
quell — [v1] defeat, suppress annihilate, conquer, crush, extinguish, hush up*, kill, overcome, overpower, put down, put the lid on*, queer, quench, shut down, silence, sit on, stamp out*, stifle, stop, subdue, subjugate, vanquish; concepts 95,121,234… … New thesaurus
quell — index abate (extinguish), allay, alleviate, arrest (stop), assuage, beat (defeat) … Law dictionary
Quell — Quell,der:1.⇨Quelle(1)–2.⇨Bach(1) … Das Wörterbuch der Synonyme
quell — (v.) O.E. cwellan to kill, murder, execute, from P.Gmc. *kwaljanan (Cf. O.E. cwelan to die, cwalu violent death; O.S. quellian to torture, kill; O.N. kvelja to torment; M.Du. quelen to vex, tease, torment; O.H.G. quellan … Etymology dictionary
quell — *crush, extinguish, suppress, quench, quash Analogous words: *destroy: wreck, *ruin: subdue, subjugate, overcome, vanquish, *conquer Antonyms: foment … New Dictionary of Synonyms
