▪ I. stanch, staunch, n.1
(stɑːnʃ, -æ-, stɔːnʃ)
Also 8 Sc. stench.
[f. stanch v., or ad. the equivalent F. estanche (Cotgr. 1611; now étanche), which prob. existed in OF.]
† 1. That which stops or allays, also a stopping.
| a 1400–50 Stockh. Med. MS. 28 Staunch of lecherye. 1557 N. Grimalde in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 110 O frendship,..O sacred bond of blisfull peace, the stalworth staunch of strife. 1567 Diurn. Occurr. (Bannatyne Club) 110 It was rather done for the stanche of the mouthes of the peopill. 1613 Jackson Creed i. x. §3 As it were, an ebbe or staunch in the affaires of the Kingdome of Israel. 1790 D. Morison Poems 18 (E.D.D.) E'er their cravings got a stench, His pulse fu' sair was beatin'. |
2. Something used for stanching blood, a styptic. † a. (Application uncertain). b. dial. Selenite or powdered gypsum. [Cf. F. pierre d'estanche, ‘the bloud-stone’ (Cotgr.).] c. Anglo-Irish. The leguminous plant Anthyllis vulneraria.
| a. 1392 Earl Derby's Exped. (Camden) 164 Johanni leche pro camfor et staunche. |
| b. 1712 J. Morton Nat. Hist. Northamptonsh. 178 Its Use in stopping excessive Bleeding has been try'd with very good Success at Kettering; on which Account it [sc. a variety of selenite] has there the Name of Stanch. 1748 Hill Hist. Fossils 129. |
| c. 1726 C. Threlkeld Synopsis Stirp. Hibern. A 6 b, Anthyllis Leguminosa..is sold in our Markets by the Name of Stanch, being astringent, as most of the Pulse Kind are. |
† 3. ? Drying effect (of fire). Obs. rare—1.
| 1643 Steer tr. Fabricius' Exper. Chirurg. iii. 8 Sore by reason of the stretching of the skin, which is stretched and drawne together by the stanch of the fire. |
4. A kind of after-damp in mines, etc.
| 1693 G. Pooley in Phil. Trans. XVII. 674 In ancient Works,..Damps and Staunches sometimes arise. 1847 Halliwell, Staunches, damps or offensive vapours arising in underground works, mines, &c. |
5. Comb.: stanch-air = sense 4; stanch-grass Sc. yarrow, Achillea Millefolium.
| 1768 Ross Helenore 9 A' her washing cud na stench the bleed, In haste then Nory for the stench-girss yeed. 1874 R. Buchanan Poet. Wks. I. 196 No stanchgrass ever heal'd a wound so deep. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining 237 Stanch-air. |
▪ II. stanch, staunch, n.2
(stɑːnʃ, -æ-, stɔːnʃ)
[a. OF. estanche, related to estanc stank n.]
A lock or dam in a river.
| 1767 Hull Navig. Act 1054 Bridges, sluices, staunches, locks. 1866 J. E. Brogden Prov. Lincs., Stanch, a lock or stop for water, much used in the fen districts. 1879 Edin. Rev. CL. 447 Rude temporary stanches, or flush-weirs. 1890 Fishing Gaz. 8 Nov. 242/3 This rather fast-running and weedy river—the staunches were up. Ibid. The swims at the first and second staunch. |
| Comb. 1794 Rennie Rep. Surv. Thames 10 All the old stanch locks should be purchased, and proper gauge or pen wiers substituted in their place. |
▪ III. stanch, a.
see staunch a. (the usual form).
▪ IV. stanch, staunch, v.
(stɑːnʃ, -æ-, stɔːnʃ)
Forms: 4–6 stanche, staunche, 4–5 stawnche, stonch, 5 staunge, 6 stainch, staynche, stenche, stinch, 6–7 stench, 4– stanch, staunch.
[ad. OF. estanchier (mod.F. étancher) to stop the flow of (water), stanch (blood), stop up (a leak), make (a vessel) watertight, to quench (thirst), corresponding to Pr., Sp., Pg. estancar in similar senses (Pg. also to exhaust, weary), It. stancare to weary:—Com. Rom. *stancare, according to some scholars a contraction of popular L. *stagnicāre, f. stagn-um pool, pond (whence stagnate v., stagnant a.]
1. trans. To stop the flow of (water, etc.). Now only poet. (rare). Also, † to dam up.
| 1481 Caxton Myrr. ii. xxv. 118 Thus groweth the rayne And whan it is alle fallen to therthe & the grete moisture is staunched the clowde hath lost his broun colour. 1535 Coverdale Ezek. xxxi. 15, I will staunch his floudes. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 26 Those thinges, which could staunche the streames of my teares. 1642 Bridge Wound. Consc. Cured ii. 19 That Justice..may run down like water which hath been stanched up. 1876 Swinburne Erectheus 426 A living well of life nor stanched nor stained. |
† b. fig. To dry up the springs of; to exhaust (one's credit). Obs.
| 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 197 For to stanch his foysoun homward haf I ment. 1380 Lay Folks Catech. (L) 1390 Ydylnesse is..stoppynge and staunchyng grace and good thewys. 1568 U. Fulwell Like will to Like E ij, My credit also is now quite staunched. |
† c. intr. for refl. To cease flowing. Obs.
| c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 90 Water ys ouer⁓comand in Planetys, and staunches noght but by doun⁓shedyng. 1588 A. King Canisius' Catech. in Cath. Tract. (S.T.S.) 187 The raine staincheit the 40 day efter Noa entereit in the ark. |
2. trans. To stop the flow of (blood or other issue from the body); to stop the flow of blood from (a wound).
In the first two quots. possibly intr. for refl.: see c.
| 13.. Seuyn Sag. (W.) 1136 For al that heuer he mighte do, His menesoun might nowt staunche tho. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2577 For alle þe barbours of Bretayne salle noghte thy blode stawnche! 14.. Sir Beues (M.) 534 To the freshe erth he laid hym flatt, For to staunche his woundus with that. a 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 47 Þe fluxe or þe rynnyng þer y-dried, or stopped, or staunched, þai dye sone after. 1599 Breton Will of Wit, etc. (Grosart) 39/1 First the blood must bee stinched. 1610 G. Fletcher Christ's Vict. Earth lix. Ode, Not all the skill his wounds can stench. 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. ii. 379 The flux could be stenched by no other Remedies. 1718 Pope Iliad iv. 229 Now seek some skilful Hand, whose pow'rful Art May stanch th' Effusion, and extract the Dart. a 1721 Prior Dial. Locke & Montaigne 657 A Cobweb is good..to..stanch cut thumbs. 1781 Cowper Retirem. 322 [To] staunch the bleedings of a broken heart. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xxxvii, The bleeding was stanched, the wound was closed. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 519 Then came the hermit out and..stanch'd his wound. 1872 Dixon Switzers xxxi. 315 They learn to staunch the flow of blood. 1890 R. Bridges Shorter Poems i. Elegy vii, The branches..bleed from unseen wounds that no sun stanches. |
† b. To stop the bleeding or diarrhœa of (a person). Obs.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur xvii. xi. 706 Two felawes..lyfte her vp and staunched her but she had bled soo moche that she myght not lyue. 1530 Palsgr. 732/2 He fell a bledyng, but none coulde stanche hym tyll he was dede. 1561 Hollybush Hom. Apoth. 35 But if the siege be by reason a man hath eaten ought that is unwholsom, then ought he not to be staunched so sone. |
c. intr. for refl.
| c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon i. 57 Whiche corps neuer staunched of bledynge by the space of viii myles. 1526 Tindale Luke viii. 44 Immediatly her issue off bloud staunched. 1655 Culpeper, etc. Riverius iv. vii. 118 Presently the blood stanched. 1599 A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 317/1 Strewe of this pouldre theron, and keepe it alwayes on the wounde; if with the first time it will not stench, applye it theron the seconde time. 1850 Robertson Serm. Ser. ii. iii. (1864) 43 The heart will bleed, and stanch when it has bled enough. |
† 3. trans. To quench, allay, satisfy (thirst, hunger, desire, etc.); also, to repress, extinguish (appetite, hatred, anger, etc.). Obs.
| c 1315 Shoreham Poems ii. 96 Ine hys pyne hys stronge þerst Stanchede hy wyþ ȝalle. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. ii. pr. ii. (1868) 34 Þe couetyse of men þat may not be staunched [L. inexpleta cupiditas]. c 1375 Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 183 If he staunche þis love and seie to þis þing þat he wole not love it so myche. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 14 The wyne of Mercy staunchithe be nature The gredy thristis of cruelle hastynes. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode i. lxxxiii. (1869) 48 Fulfille it and saule it and staunche it [his desire] might not al the world. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law of Arms (S.T.S.) 27 Ane unfillable gredy appetite..[that] never may be stanchit. 1513 Douglas æneis xii. vi. 9 O, stanch ȝour wraith for schame, or all is lorn! 1532 Psalter of Jesus {cross}{cross} j, The desyre of my vnstable herte in tyme of prayer staunche I beseche the. 1581 N. Burne Disput. 143 b, This maist honest refusal could nather stench his lust nor ambition. c 1610 Women Saints 80 Stanching hir hunger with herbes and barlie bredd, and her thirst with onelie water. 1679 Dryden Œdipus i. i, So will I seize and stanch The hunger of my love on this proud beauty. 1755 R. Forbes Ajax' Sp., Shop Bill 39 Perhaps I may their greening stench, 'ere I hae done. |
† b. To satisfy the appetite of. Also, to appease or cure (a person) of a desire or passion. Obs.
| 1340 Alex. & Dind. 938 Þanne wol he..wexe wilde of his wil & wikke to staunche. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 11 For tastinge is defended me, And I can noght miselven stanche. 1440 Shirley Dethe K. James (1818) 7 The..kynge..noght stanchid of his unsacionable and gredi avarice, ordeynd that tallage..upon his people, gretter..then ever..afore. c 1450 Bk. Curtasye 273 in Babees Bk., Helpe to staunche hom of malice. 1486 Bk. St. Albans, Hawking c j b, Take hede the first day of to moch eetyng unto tyme that she be stawnchid. |
4. To quench (a fire). arch.
| c 1450 Lovelich Grail liii. 279 God with hym schal senden his grace, and In this diche stawnchen this feer. a 1513 Fabyan's Chron. vii. (1811) 512 Whiche fyre was scantly stenchyd in .viii. dayes after. 1860 M. Arnold St. Brandan 69, I stanch with ice my burning breast. |
5. To arrest the progress of (a disease); to allay (pain); to relieve (a person) of pain.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xliv. (Lucy) 20 Na scho mycht get na medycine, þat cuth hire stanche of þat pyne. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. clxxxii. (1495) 723 Grene grapes haue the vertue to binde and to staunche Coleryk perbrakynge. a 1400 in Rel. Ant. (1841) I. 190 Fro basylica..A branche veyn spryngeth..The cardiacle he wol stanche. 1551 Turner Herbal i. B vj, Aloe..stancheth the heade ake. 1809–10 Coleridge Friend (1865) 212 The patriot's sword may cut off the Hydra's head; but he possesses no brand to stanch the active corruption of the body. 1862 Goulburn Pers. Relig. iii. i. (1873) 155 Unless the moral malady be stanched in us by the Blood and Grace of Christ..salvation is for us out of the question. 1863 D. G. Mitchell My Farm of Edgewood 52, I haue sometimes availed myself of a curious bit of old narrative to staunch the pain of a sting. |
† 6. To put an end to (strife, enmity, rebellion, or any mischievous agency or condition). Obs.
| 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 253 If..holy kirke wild stanche sibred bituex þam tuo. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxvi. (Nicholas) 329 Sic were to gere stanchit be, þe emperoure send princes thre. c 1400 26 Pol. Poems iv. 17 Men may not staunche a comoun noys. 1409 Exch. Rolls Scot. IV. p. ccx, Gif thar happynnis ony discorde..[thai] sal lelily do thair power on aythir part to ger it be stanchit in lufely manere. c 1430 Life St. Kath. (Roxb.) 5 He staunged soo by hys manly and vertuouse gouernaunce þat rebellioun. 1473–4 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 51 Lettres..to stanche thare gadering for the court of Forfare. 1533 Bellenden Livy II. 164 The Ire of goddis mon be first mesit to stanche þe said pest. 1573 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 40 [He] cam downe himself..to stenche this strife. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xiii, Their feud would be stanched by the death of one, or probably both, of the villains. |
† b. To restrain from turbulence or violence; to put down, suppress (rebels, lawbreakers). Sc.
| 1513 Douglas æneis i. ii. 21 The hie fadir Gaif thame [sc. the winds] ane kyng, quhilk as thar lord and juge, At certane tyme thame stanching and withhald. 1547 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. IX. 75 With charges to the Maister of Maxwell..to remane in Moffet ane moneth for stancheing of thevis. 1559 Extracts Burgh Rec. Edin. (1875) III. 50 All actis [etc.]..set furth for stanching of sturdy beggeris. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 92 This wickit man that cuild na wayis be stenchit fra reffe and oppressioun. Ibid. 196 The king wschit out..to stenche thir twa lordis of thair combat and tuilzie. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 10 Quha nathir in peace or weire can be stainchet from takeng the pray. Ibid. 172 He stanchet all seditious personnes. |
† c. intr. for refl. Of storm, war, dissension: To come to an end, be allayed. Of persons: To cease from violence. Obs.
| c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 4549 And þe wynde stonchede & blew nomore. 1508 Kennedie Flyting w. Dunbar 543 Sterand the potis of hell, et newir stanchis. 1513 Douglas æneis i. v. 110 The cruell tyme sone thereftir sall ceis, And weris stanch, all sal be rest and pece. c 1560 Rolland Seven Sages 96 The first to spend he neuer stanches. |
7. To stop up, to render water-tight or weatherproof. [After F. étancher.]
| 1776 G. Semple Building in Water 34 We got our Dam staunched as before mentioned. 1847 Emerson Poems, Threnody 84 The gathered sticks to staunch the wall Of the snow-tower, when snow should fall. a 1862 E. O'Curry Manners Anc. Irish (1873) III. 32, I cannot say how they staunched the walls.., whether with clay, moss, or skins. 1892 P. H. Emerson Son of Fens xiv. 112 We'll go put the other board in now. I think we're stanched one. |
8. Comb. † stanch-blood, (a) a blood-stone; (b) yarrow, Achillea Millefolium.
| 1567 J. Maplet Gr. Forest 7 b, Ematites..is called of some stench bloud. 1601 Holland Pliny xxvi. xii. II. 263 marg., Stanch-bloud, a kind of Yarrow. |
Hence stanched ppl. a. (in first quot. = ? cured of passion: see v. 3 b), ˈstanching ppl. a.
| 1682 H. More Annot. Glanvill's Lux O. xiv. 147 It is unbeseeming either a sober and stanched man or a good Christian. 1852 J. Wiggins Embanking 19 Peat or bog is also a good material for a sea-bank, not only by reason of its staunching but also its adhesive qualities when packed. Ibid. 22 Such a material may also be..very hard and staunching when dry. 1865 A. Smith Summer in Skye I. 318 When the stanched rain-clouds were burning into a sullen red at sunset. |
▪ V. stanch
variant of stance n.2