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DictionaryRoot: stinguere
Latin

stinguere

to quench

3 / 4
An older woman lowers a candle snuffer over a candle wick, with a thin curl of smoke escaping beneath the snuffer and no flame remaining.
verb

extinguish

ik-STING-gwish/ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/

To put out a fire or light.

Etymology
exLatinout, away; also thoroughly
+tinguLatinto quench
+ishEnglishverb-forming ending

“Out” reinforces the quenching root: something burning is made to go out. The fire-and-light sense preserves this concrete image rather than the broader meaning of wiping something out.

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