# drench

> English word · Noun · IPA /dɹɛnt͡ʃ/ · frequency rank #61,426

## Definitions
1. A dose or draught of liquid medicine (especially one causing sleepiness) taken by a person; specifically, a (large) dose, or one forced or poured down the throat.
2. A dose or draught of liquid medicine administered to an animal.

## Etymology
From Middle English drench, drenche (“beverage, drink; cup of drink, specifically a poisoned drink; medicinal potion, specifically an emetic (?)”) [and other forms], from Old English drenċ (“drink; draft, potion; dose (of medicine, poison, etc.)”), from Proto-West Germanic *dranki, from Proto-Germanic *drankiz (“drink; potion; dose”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrenǵ- (“to draw, pull; to gulp; to sip”). Doublet of drink (noun).
Cognates
* Gothic 𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌺 (draggk), 𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌺 (dragk, “beverage, drink”)
* Old Dutch *dranc, (Middle Dutch dranc, modern Dutch drank (“beverage, drink”))
* Old High German tranc, tranch (Middle High German tranc, modern German Trank (“drink; potion”))
* Old Saxon dranc

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/drench