Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To drink (a beverage) heartily: quaffed the ale with gusto.
- v. To drink a liquid heartily: quaffed from the spring.
- n. A hearty draft of liquid.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To drink; swallow in large draughts; drink of copiously or greedily.
- To drink largely or luxuriously.
- n. The act of quaffing; also, the quantity of liquor drunk at once; a draught.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To drink with relish; to drink copiously of; to swallow in large draughts.
- v. To drink largely or luxuriously.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a hearty draft
- v. to swallow hurriedly or greedily or in one draught
Etymologies
- Attested since the mid 16th century, of uncertain origin. Suggestions include connection with Irish Gaelic cauch ("cup") (whence Scots quaich, queff). The noun is derived from the verb, since the later 16th century. (Wiktionary)
- Origin unknown. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“No one is foolish enough to quaff from the Columbia; but go ahead, be our guest.”
Getting to third base with our pristine Columbia Gorge (Jack Bog's Blog)
“Sit yet a little longer, poor mother, and wait in meek expectation to lift the hats from those shining curly heads, and see those rosy lips quaff from the little silver cups; yet a little longer wait - and hope!”
“But we shall continue to so quaff, mostly because "quaff" is such a cool word to type.”
The Huffington Post: Chris Weigant: Friday Talking Points [147] -- Democrats Fighting The Good Fight
“After setting the mind of the landlord at rest, Barnes declined Mr. Rushcroft's invitation to "quaff" a cordial with him in the tap-room, explaining that he was exceedingly tired and intended to retire early”
“Make David Gregory quaff an entire Smirnoff Ice on camera, while down on one knee.”
“But with each successive quaff, the flavors opened up, revealing a rich, complex tequila that stopped just short of overpowering the harmonious blend of the other ingredients.”
“While you're there, pick up a fresh, flowery bottle of sparkling Suffolk brut to quaff as you wander.”
“At a Hunan restaurant in Flushing, Queens, members of the newly formed Chinese Returnees International (CRI) suck on spicy spare ribs and quaff green tea.”
“And Alfre, Duncan and I got to enjoy a well deserved quaff and eat some food ... or so we thought.”
Roderick Spencer: Notes on Double Handbagging at the Golden Globes
“Sweet Bordeaux is exceptionally fine in 2007, balancing candied fruit and honey flavors with acidic kick that keeps the quaff from being cloying.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘quaff’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Q words
Ever get stuck with the random bunch of letters and a q and not know any words? Well, maybe this will help.
quire, quais, quai, queer, quoit, quitrent, quipster, question, quest, questing, quests, quit and 208 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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EN - archaic words
abide, abjure, abroad, adamant, afield, aforetime, aghast, anon, apace, argent, assuage, aught and 328 more...
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Words without the letter E
chord, slur, anabaptist, anabolic, diabolic, turbid, torpid, somniloquist, trump, bipolar, dioxin, hydrocarbon and 107 more...
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501
Classic
abhor, mirth, obtuse, iota, vex, irk, teem, pith, moot, mete, ire, bane and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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scrabble j q x z 4 and 5 letter words
revising for a competition 30 games
in 24 hours
5-Letter words with J, X, Q or Z
J
X
ADDAX ADMIX AFFIX ANNEX ATAXY AUXIN AXELS AXIAL AXILE AXILS A...azan, azon, boxy, brux, buzz, calx, chez, coax, coxa, cozy, crux, czar and 152 more...
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plans for the weekend
No new unlisted words/phrases, please! Only list existing ones.
ruddy with booze ..., I go out horking...., attend pubs that ..., harvest kidneys, bowling balls, chandeliers, lampshade, Saran Wrap, croodle, kite, anal thermometer,..., plinth and 44 more...
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Good ol' qu-
quag, quagga, quaff, querulous, quorum, sesquipedalian, quibble, quip, aquiline, quote, quotationist, quoter and 29 more...
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Alternatives to DRINK
drink is a boring word.
absorb, consume, dissipate, gulp, indulge, swallow, imbibe, sip, fill, quaff, chug, slug and 2 more...
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Nethack words
Words you mainly only encounter whilst playing Nethack.
troglodyte, skirmisher, coalesce, djinni, stripling, uncursed, Elbereth, tripe, lichen, grid bug, kobold, naiad and 16 more...
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Verbages
puddle, kowtow, tessellate, defalcate, embezzle, enkindle, ablate, frivol, moonlight, tongue-tie, gobble, pettifog and 58 more...
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Let's Eat!
Eating Verbs
boil, break bread, breakfast, chew, chomp, chow down, consume, cram, devour, diet, digest, dig in and 48 more...
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Hit Parade GRE
Princeton Review words
abscond, aberrant, alacrity, anomaly, approbation, arduous, assuage, audacious, austere, axiomatic, canonical, capricious and 287 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for quaff.
Dan337 This seems to mostly happen to potions. Sep 4, 2011