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Added 9 October 2026

quell

/kwɛl/ verb

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about quell at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To subdue, put down, or silence (someone or something); to force (someone) to submit. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
To suppress, to put an end to (something); to extinguish.
to quell grief
To kill.

noun

A subduing.

noun

A source, especially a spring.
An emotion or sensation which rises suddenly.

Origin

From Middle English quellen, from Old English cwellan (“to kill”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwalljan, from Proto-Germanic *kwaljaną (“to make die; kill”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-. Cognate with German quälen (“to torment; agonise; smite”), Swedish kvälja (“to torment”), Icelandic kvelja (“to torture; torment”). Compare also Old Armenian կեղ (keł, “sore, ulcer”), Old Church Slavonic жаль (žalĭ, “pain”). See also kill, which may be its doublet.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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