stanch

¹

[ stawnch, stanch, stahnch ]

verb (used with object)

1. to stop the flow of (a liquid, especially blood).
2. to stop the flow of blood or other liquid from (a wound, leak, etc.).
3. Archaic. to check, allay, or extinguish.

verb (used without object)

1. to stop flowing, as blood; be stanched.

noun

1. Also called flash-lock,. a lock that, after being partially emptied, is opened suddenly to send a boat over a shallow place with a rush of water.

stanch

²

[ stawnch, stahnch, stanch ]

adjective

, stanch·er, stanch·est.

1. staunch.

stanch

/ stɑːntʃ; stɔːntʃ /

verb

1. to stem the flow of (a liquid, esp blood) or (of a liquid) to stop flowing
2. to prevent the flow of a liquid, esp blood, from (a hole, wound, etc)
3. an archaic word for assuage

noun

1. a primitive form of lock in which boats are carried over shallow parts of a river in a rush of water released by the lock

Derived Forms

• ˈstanchable, adjective
• ˈstancher, noun

Other Words From

• stancha·ble adjective
• stancher noun
• un·stancha·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stanch¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English stanchen, staunchen (verb) < Old French estanchier “to close, stop, slake (thirst),” from Vulgar Latin stanticāre (unattested), equivalent to Latin stant- (stem of stāns, present participle of stāre to stand ) + -icāre causative suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of stanch¹

C14: from Old French estanchier , from Vulgar Latin stanticāre (unattested) to cause to stand, from Latin stāre to stand, halt

Example Sentences

She tried to stanch the flow with blankets, sheets and pillows.

From Los Angeles Times

Biden had just come out of a series of tense calls with groups of House Democrats and was struggling to stanch the flow of statements calling on him to step down when the shooting occurred.

From Salon

He and Huntington tried to stanch the bleeding with towels, but by the time Orange County sheriff’s deputies arrived, prosecutors said, Jones was dead.

From Los Angeles Times

Rave to the kind young person who took me into the lobby of their apartment building, where they and the concierge helped stanch the flow of blood and offered to call for help.

From Seattle Times

Although the outflow of students may have been stanched, “I would characterize that as the thinnest of silver linings,” said Thomas Dee, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education.

From Los Angeles Times