Quashes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To officially reject or nullify a decision or agreement ; to suppress or put an end to an action or movement by force or authority
2. To annul or invalidate a ruling or order through an official process ; to forcibly stop or quell a disturbance or activity
3. To legally overturn or cancel a prior judgment or decision ; to effectively end or quell something, such as dissent or rebellion

Etymology: "Quashes" is simply the third-person singular present form of "quash", so the story belongs to the verb itself. That verb descends from Latin "quassare", meaning "to shake violently" or "to break into pieces", which came into Middle English through Old French "quasser". Its original sense was physical: to crush or smash something. Its modern legal and political meaning, to annul a ruling or put down a rebellion, grew out of a figurative extension of that sense, as if the decision were being broken apart. The verb was also reshaped along the way. Its spelling and sense were influenced by Latin "cassare", "to annul", which is where the idea of cancelling came in. That overlap with "cassare" explains why "quash" now means to void a decision as well as to crush something physically. The word sits in a family of cousins across European languages, including Dutch "kwetsen", meaning "to hurt", and German "quetschen", meaning "to crush" or "to squash", which preserve the original notion of violent pressure.

Synonyms: suppress, subdue, crush, put down

Antonyms: encourage, promote