Third-person singular present tense of 'drench'; to soak or saturate something thoroughly with liquid.
From Old English 'drencan' (to make drunk, to force liquid into). The modern meaning of soaking thoroughly developed from the idea of forcing liquid into something.
The verb 'drench' shows how meanings evolve—it started meaning 'to force (a horse) to drink medicine' and broadened to mean 'to soak anything thoroughly,' showing how language expands from specific contexts to general use.
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