quaff

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 27, 2009 is: quaff • \KWAHF\ • verb : to drink deeply Examples: "'Respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore! Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!' / Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore.'" (Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven) Did you know? Nowadays, "quaff" has an old-fashioned, literary sound to it. For more contemporary words that suggest drinking a lot of something, especially in big gulps and in large quantity, you might try "drain," "pound," or "slug." If you are a daintier drinker, you might say that you prefer to "sip," "imbibe" or "partake in" the beverage of your choice. "Quaff" is by no means the oldest of these terms -- earliest evidence of it in use is from the early 1500s, whereas "sip" dates to the 14th century -- but it is the only one with the mysterious "origin unknown" etymology. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.