'quencher' originates from Old English, specifically the verb 'cwencan' (or 'cwenċan'), where 'cwencan' meant 'to kill, extinguish or put out'.

'quencher' developed from the Old English verb 'cwencan' which became Middle English 'quenchen'/'quenchen' (to extinguish); the modern noun 'quencher' formed by adding the agentive suffix '-er' to 'quench'.

Initially, the root meant 'to kill or extinguish'; over time the meaning broadened to include anything that 'extinguishes' in a literal sense (fire, heat) or figurative/sensory sense (thirst), resulting in the modern senses of 'something that extinguishes or satisfies'.