quietenv.

1759 W. Hillary Observ. Changes Air & Dis. Barbados 245 When proper Medicines are thus timely and judiciously given in this Case, they seldom fail to carry off the irritating Cause, and quieten and ease the Nerves.

1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Quieten, to make still or quiet. ‘Gang an quieten them noisy barns.’

1844 N. Brit. Rev. 1 182 To ‘quieten’ the children..is not English.

1853 E. C. Gaskell Ruth III. x. 280 I will stay..partly to quieten the fears of this poor, faithful fellow.

1888 Chambers's Jrnl. 7 Apr. 223 The incident did not quieten the audience.

1902 C. J. C. Hyne Mr. Horrocks, Purser 37 Mr Horrocks had given the wink to the chief steward to go and quieten down the Second-Class passengers.

1955 E. Summerskill in K. Payne Between Ourselves (1983) 186 It has been impossible to quieten a naturally beautiful voice.

1973 J. Wainwright Pride of Pigs 88 The youth..revved the engine, then quietened it down to the soft ticking-over.

1998 S. Winchester Surgeon of Crowthorne i. 16 His motivation in coming to England was to quieten a mind that had become, as Victorian doctors were apt to say, ‘inflamed.’

1890 C. Dixon Stray Feathers v. 67 They soon quieten down.

1897 Westm. Gaz. 21 Aug. 5/1 Towards the close the market quietened.

1954 V. Randolph Pissing in Snow (1976) iii. 9 When things finally quietened down, the folks figured that the neighbor boys must have set off some fireworks under the bed.

1959 G. Slatter Gun in my Hand 99 The..man shouting at the drunks who wouldn't quieten for his song at the smoko.

2003 Independent (Nexis) 14 Aug. Once the adrenalin stopped pumping and the mind quietened down, I hit a bit of a low.