Where Does Quaff Mean?

To quaff is to gulp. You're in a desert; you haven't had water in days; you're wicked thirsty. Then you find an oasis! You lean over and quaff the water.

What does the word quaff mean in English?

transitive + intransitive. : to drink (a usually alcoholic beverage) heartily or copiously At Fort William, goods were exchanged, bills were tallied, brandy was quaffed, songs were sung.—

Where did the word quaff come from?

quaff (v.)

"to drink or swallow in large draughts," 1510s (implied in quaffer), a word of obscure origin, perhaps imitative, or perhaps from Low German quassen "to overindulge (in food and drink)," with -ss- misread as -ff-.