Quell
/kwɛl/noun
To suppress, put an end to, or calm something down.
Did you know?Quell comes from an Old English verb tied to the idea of killing or destroying, and over time it softened into the modern sense of suppressing unrest, fear, or emotion.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʷel-
“to strike, kill, or wound”
Old English
OE
cwellan
“to kill, slay, destroy”
Middle English
ME
quellen
“to kill, destroy; later, to subdue or suppress”
Modern English
English
quell
“to suppress, put an end to, or calm”