▪ I. assuage, v.
(əˈsweɪdʒ)
Forms: 3–7 aswage, 4–5 asuage, 5–8 asswage, 4– assuage. Aphet. 5–7 swage: see suage.
[a. OF. a(s)souage-r, -agier, Pr. a(s)suaviar, f. L. type *assuāviāre, f. ad to + suāvis sweet, agreeable. Cf. abridge, aggrege, allege (L. abbreviāre, aggraviāre, alleviāre).]
I. trans.
1. To soften, mitigate, calm, appease, allay (angry or excited feelings).
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 300 His wrath forto asuage. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 883 But yf he bite hir in his rage, Let labouryng his melancoly swage. 1513 More Rich. III, Wks. 35/2 The displeasure of those that bare him grudge..was well asswaged. 1642 Rogers Naaman 32 God hath asswaged his pride, and tamed him. 1777 Watson Philip II (1793) II. xiv. 229 They omitted nothing in their power to assuage his resentment. 1857 Buckle Civilis. viii. 500 That secular spirit which, in every country, has assuaged religious animosities. |
2. To pacify, appease, calm (the excited person).
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. C. 3 When heuy herttes ben hurt wyth heþyng..Suffraunce may aswagen hem. 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. ii. 47 But Artegall him fairely gan asswage. 1598 Florio, Propitiare..to asswage God with sacrifice. 1706 Addison Rosamond ii. vi, Kindling pity, kindling rage At once provoke me, and asswage. 1763 Sir W. Jones Caissa Poems (1777) 33 So may thy prayers assuage the scornful dame. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. I. 295, I shall..assuage and mollify myself a little after that uncongenial life of the consulate. |
† 3. To relax, modify, moderate (a harsh law, etc.).
| c 1300 Beket 1454 That the King wolde..aswagi the lithere lawes. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 287/1, I pray the..that thou asuage uppon hym the sentence of dampnacion. |
4. To mitigate, alleviate, soothe, relieve (physical or mental pain); to lessen the violence of (disease).
| 1393 Gower Conf. I. 267 That shulde assuage The leper. c 1400 Rom. Rose 2815 Thus Swete-Thenkyng shalle aswage The peyne of lovers. 1561 T. N[orton] Calvin's Inst. iii. 206 Then were there ministred other plaisters to asswage such peines. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn ii. xxii. §1 They need medicine..to assuage the disease. 1725 Pope Odyss. ii. 29 The rest with duteous love his griefs asswage. 1868 Milman St. Paul's xix. 481 Perhaps no man has assuaged so much human misery as John Howard. |
5. To appease, satisfy (appetites, desires).
| c 1430 Lydg. Venus-Mass in Lay Folk's Mass-Bk. 394 Water or wyne..asswage the grete dryhnesse of ther gredy thruste. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 791 The good old God his Hunger did asswage With Roots and Herbs. 1812 Combe (Dr. Syntax) Picturesque x. 57 His thirst assuage With tea that's made of balm or sage. 1856 Mrs. Stowe Dred II. xxvii. 278 So the fearful craving of his soul for justice was assuaged. |
6. gen. To abate, lessen, diminish (esp. anything swollen). arch. or Obs.
| c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems 64 His olde gyltis bothe to asoft and swage. 1494 Fabyan vii. ccxxxvi. 273 Short of body, and therwith fatte; the whiche to aswage he toke y⊇ lesse of metis. c 1525 Skelton El. Rummyng 10 For her visage It would aswage A mannes courage. 1667 Pepys Diary 20, 21 Dec., My poor wife is in mighty pain, and her face miserably swelled..My wife is a little better, and her cheek asswaged. 1774 J. Bryant Mythol. II. 284 The Dove..brought the first tidings that the waters of the deep were asswaged. |
II. intr.
† 7. Of passion, pain, appetite, etc. (from senses 1, 2, 4, 5): To become less violent, to abate. Obs.
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 78 Of his crueltes he gynnes forto assuage. c 1386 Chaucer Merch. T. 838 His sorwe gan aswage. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xviii. xvi, The great payne of love May not aswage tyl death it remove. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 57 Their lust asswageth till another time. 1722 De Foe Plague 191 The plague being come to a crisis, its fury began to assuage. |
8. gen. To grow less, diminish, decrease, fall off, die away; to abate, subside. arch. or Obs.
| c 1430 Hymns to Virg. (1867) 79 Take hede..How fast ȝoure ȝouþe dooþ asswage. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xxviii. 42 Kyng Phylippes enterprise of y⊇ sayd Croysey beganne to asswage and waxe cold. 1611 Bible Gen. viii. 1 And the waters asswaged. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 242 The Fire in Lime burnt, Asswages not, but lies hid. 1858 Motley Dutch Rep. Introd. v. 17 As the deluge assuaged. |
▪ II. † aˈssuage, n. Obs. rare—1.
[f. prec.]
= next.
| 1596 C. Fitzgeffrey Sir F. Drake (1881) 15 His griefe, impatient of asswage. |