Stinguere

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To cause something to cease burning or to put out a flame ; to eliminate or bring to an end ; to suppress or extinguish completely
2. To remove a source of light or fire by quenching it ; to erase or annihilate a presence ; to put something out of existence or effect
3. To snuff out a blaze or source of illumination ; to terminate or abolish a condition or thing ; to make something disappear or cease utterly

Etymology: Latin "stinguere" meant to put out a fire, to quench or extinguish it. English rarely uses this bare form. It survives mainly in compounds, above all "extinguish," which comes from the Latin "extinguere," a version of the same verb with the intensive prefix "ex-" added. English most likely took "extinguish" in late Middle English. The verb also appears inside "distinguish." Latin "distinguere" combined "dis-," meaning "apart," with "stinguere," so its first sense was to separate or set things apart. Only later did it take on the sense of recognizing a difference, which is why "distinguish" and "extinguish" look so alike while meaning very different things.

Synonyms: extinguish, put out, quench, smother, douse

Antonyms: ignite, light, kindle, start, fuel