quash

Meaning

1. To defeat decisively, to suppress.
2. (obsolete) To crush or dash to pieces.
3. To void or suppress (a subpoena, decision, etc.).

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kwɒʃ/

Etymology

From Middle English quaschen, quasshen, cwessen, quassen, from Old French quasser, from Latin quassāre, present active infinitive of quassō, under the influence of cassō (“I annul”), from Latin quatiō (“I shake”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₁t- (“to shake”) (same root for the English words: pasta, paste, pastiche, pastry). Cognate with Dutch kwetsen (“to hurt, injure”), German quetschen (“to crush, squash”), Spanish quejar (“to complain”).