entry
satiate
/ˈseɪʃieɪt/To satisfy fully or excessively
From Latin Latin satis (enough).
from Latin satiatus , past participle of satiare "fill full, satisfy,"
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin satiatus , past participle of satiare "fill full, satisfy,"
+1 more sourceThis is one of those words that starts out politely and ends up a little sinister. In the 1440s, English borrowed a Latin participle, satiatus, built on satis, “enough” — the same family that gives us satisfy and satiety, words that all hover around the edge of “that’ll do.” Then the meaning slipped: by the 1620s, satiate could mean not just to satisfy, but to stuff someone past comfort, the verbal equivalent of a second, third, and fourth helping. You can almost picture a Renaissance banquet where the candles are dripping, the trenchers are piled high, and one guest mutters that the goose has been thoroughly, almost offensively, sated. The memorable trick is that English kept the nice-sounding Latin wrapper but let the sense turn gluttonous underneath it.
The Story
This is one of those words that starts out politely and ends up a little sinister. In the 1440s, English borrowed a Latin participle, satiatus, built on satis, “enough” — the same family that gives us satisfy and satiety, words that all hover around the edge of “that’ll do.” Then the meaning slipped: by the 1620s, satiate could mean not just to satisfy, but to stuff someone past comfort, the verbal equivalent of a second, third, and fourth helping. You can almost picture a Renaissance banquet where the candles are dripping, the trenchers are piled high, and one guest mutters that the goose has been thoroughly, almost offensively, sated. The memorable trick is that English kept the nice-sounding Latin wrapper but let the sense turn gluttonous underneath it.
Kin & Kindred
From 'Latin satis'·enough; sufficient
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia