Etymology: Probably an error for squash n.² Compare earlier squanter-squash n.Some of the forms may be based on misunderstanding by early naturalists, others may represent misreadings of manuscripts by later editors.

Etymology: Origin unknown. Perhaps compare earlier wash n.It is uncertain whether slightly earlier use of the same word in place names is shown by the following:1650 Survey of Northolme (P.R.O.: E 317/LINCS/29) f. 3 All y^t parcell of land commonly called Thackeground lying in the ffennes knowne by y^e name of Pryors Quash and adioyning to a parcell of ffenne ground called Queenes quash cont. by estimacion tenne acres.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman quaisser, queisser, quessier, quessir, queissir, quasser, quassir, quacer, quaser and Old French quaissier, quesser, (Picardy) quasier, Old French, Middle French quasser, (Liège) quassier (French casser ) to break in pieces, smash, shatter (c1100 with reference to physical objects, 12th cent. with reference to a person's bones), to shake (12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), to hurt, injure (a person) (second half of the 12th cent.), to bring to nothing, to crush (a hope), to banish, get rid of (a suspicion) (all early 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), to subdue, suppress (a noise) (first half of the 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), to crush (a thing, e.g. grapes) (early 14th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), to annul, make null and void, to throw out as invalid (a law, decision, election, indictment, etc.) (late 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), to revoke (a privilege) (13th–14th cent. in Anglo-Norman), to put an end to (legal proceedings) (early 14th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman; the specific legal uses are apparently not paralleled in continental French until later: early 16th cent.) < classical Latin quassāre to shake repeatedly, to cause to tremble violently, to damage, batter, bruise, in post-classical Latin also to break, smash (early 3rd cent. in Tertullian), frequentative of quatere to shake, of uncertain origin. The specific legal uses of the French verb in sense 2 are probably due to association with post-classical Latin cassare (also quassare, frequently from 12th cent. in British sources) to destroy (4th cent.), to annul (5th cent.), to reject (12th cent.; < classical Latin cassus null, void: see cass adj.). In later use in sense 5 perhaps partly imitative. Compare cass v., cash v.¹, squash v.¹The usual modern form with final /ʃ/ reflects French forms with a palatalized sibilant (represented in spelling by -iss- or -ssi- ); such forms are especially frequent in Anglo-Norman, while in continental French they occur only in the far north (Picardy, Walloon) and east (Lorraine, Moselle, Switzerland). An unattested post-classical Latin etymon *quassiare ‘to crush, break, shatter’, variant (with insertion of vocalic glide) of classical Latin quassāre , has been posited to account for such forms in French (see Französisches etymol. Wörterbuch s.v. *quassiare), but it is possible that they arose by group analogy with other verbs also having palatalized forms; compare discussion at push v. In Middle English prefixed and unprefixed forms of the past participle are attested (see y- prefix).

Etymology: < quash v.