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quash

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quash

[kwosh]
–verb (used with object)
1. to put down or suppress completely; quell; subdue: to quash a rebellion.
2. to make void, annul, or set aside (a law, indictment, decision, etc.).

Origin:
1300–50; ME quashen to smash, break, overcome, suppress < OF quasser, in part < L quassāre to shake (freq. of quatere to shake; cf. concussion ); in part < LL cassāre to annul, deriv. of L cassus empty, void


1. crush, squash, quench, repress.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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quash 1   (kwŏsh)   
tr.v.   quashed, quash·ing, quash·es
To set aside or annul, especially by judicial action.

[Middle English quassen, from Old French casser, quasser, from Medieval Latin quassāre, alteration (influenced by quassāre, to shatter) of cassāre, from Latin cassus, empty, void; see kes- in Indo-European roots.]
quash 2   (kwŏsh)   
tr.v.   quashed, quash·ing, quash·es
To put down or suppress forcibly and completely: quash a rebellion.

[Middle English quashen, from Old French quasser, from Medieval Latin quassāre, to shatter, from Latin; see squash2.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

quash 
"to make void, annul, crush," c.1330, from O.Fr. quasser "to break, smash," from L. quassare "to shatter," frequentative of quatere "to shake" (pp. quassus). Meaning "suppress" is from M.L. quassare "make null and void," from L. cassus "empty, void," influenced by quassare.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: quash
Pronunciation: 'kwäsh, 'kwosh
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Anglo-French quasser, from Middle French casser quasser, from Late Latin cassare, from Latin cassus void
: to make void : ANNUL 2 <quash a subpoena>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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