Cwafian

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Old English verb meaning to overpower, subdue, or crush someone or something through force and bring it under control
2. To press down upon and quell an opponent or rebellion so that resistance is brought to an end
3. Describing the act of suppressing or conquering a foe, a rising, or a disorder by forceful means

Etymology: Cwafian is an Old English verb meaning "to subdue," "to quell," or "to crush," and it was used in Anglo-Saxon texts for overcoming enemies and taming unruly things. Its descendant is the modern English "quail," but the meaning the two words share is unusual: "quail" now means to shrink back in fear, and it is the verb that comes from this root that carries the sense of cowering, not the old sense of subduing. The link is not obvious because the verb shifted over the centuries, and its Old English form is largely lost in standard English. Scholars trace the path from "to subdue" through "to be crushed or dispirited" to "to shrink in terror," a change that happened gradually through Middle English. Because "quail" also appears in an unrelated sense as the name of a bird, readers often assume the verb comes from that source, but its origin lies in this older Germanic root.