What does quaffing mean?
Quaffing is the present-participle form of quaff, meaning to drink something quickly and heartily, normally in large swallows rather than small sips. The word often evokes beer, ale, or another alcoholic drink, but it can apply to any beverage and is especially associated with jocular or literary descriptions of boisterous drinking. A person can quaff a pint, empty a tankard, or quaff champagne at a celebration. Its sound and rhythm make it more expressive than the neutral word drinking, while its association with alcohol gives it a convivial or sometimes comic edge. Although historically connected to vigorous drinking, quaffing can also describe someone drinking water or another non-alcoholic liquid quickly. In modern English it is uncommon in formal writing but readily understood, and it vividly conveys the pace and volume of a drink.
verbTo drink something quickly, especially an alcoholic beverage, in large gulps.
- Drinking a liquid quickly and heartily, especially in large gulps.
"After the announcement, they were quaffing champagne and laughing all night."
"After the announcement, they were quaffing champagne and laughing all night."
"In the comic novel, the innkeeper kept quaffing from a battered tankard."
Quaffing is drinking with gusto: one word turns a polite sip into a whole-tankard performance.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does quaffing come from?
Quaffing is the English present-participle form of quaff, a word found in Middle English during the late medieval period. Middle English borrowed quaff from Middle Dutch quaffer, a term associated with Dutch kwakken and German quappen for drinking or gulping noisily. The modern form quaffing was produced by adding the ordinary English -ing ending to quaff.
Related word forms
How quaffing is actually used
Informal and somewhat old-fashioned, especially associated with British English, though understood and used in American English too. It can sound boisterous, humorous, or celebratory and is unusual in formal writing.
Easily confused with quaffing
Quavering means speaking or singing with a trembling, unsteady voice, whereas quaffing means drinking quickly in large gulps.