quenching

English

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkwɛntʃ.ɪŋ/

Etymology 1

From Middle English quenchinge, equivalent to quench + -ing.

Noun

quenching (countable and uncountable, plural quenchings)

  1. (physics) The extinction of any of several physical properties.
  2. (metallurgy) The rapid cooling of a hot metal object, by placing it in a liquid, in order to harden it.
  3. (astronomy) A process in which a galaxy loses cold gas, thus strongly suppressing star formation.
  4. (botany) The dissipation of energy from light in excess of what can be used for photosynthesis.
    • 2022 August 27, Michael Le Page, Genetic tweaking increases soy yield by upgrading photosynthesis, New Scientist, Issue 3401, page 16,
      When a leaf is in full sunshine, it absorbs more light energy than its photosynthetic machinery can handle. This damages cells unless they turn on a mechanism known as quenching to dissipate the excess energy.
      When a leaf is shaded, however, quenching has to be turned off to avoid dissipating energy that could be used.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English quenching, quenchyng, quenchand, quenchende, equivalent to quench + -ing.

Verb

quenching

  1. present participle and gerund of quench
Derived terms
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