Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913
Suffocate
Suf′fo·cate (sŭf′fō·kāt), a. [L. suffocatus, p. p. of suffocare to choke; sub under + fauces the throat. Cf. Faucal.] Suffocated; choked. Shak.
Suf′fo·cate (·kāt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Suffocated; p. pr. & vb. n. Suffocating.] 1. To choke or kill by stopping respiration; to stifle; to smother.
Let not hemp his windpipe suffocate. Shak.
2. To destroy; to extinguish; as, to suffocate fire.
Suf′fo·cate, v. i. To become choked, stifled, or smothered. "A swelling discontent is apt to suffocate and strangle without passage." collier.