c.1200, "to submerge, drown," from Old English drencan "give drink to, ply with drink, make drunk; soak, saturate; submerge, drown," causative of drincan "to drink" (see drink), from Proto-Germanic *drankijan (cognates: Old Norse drekkja, Swedish dränka, Dutch drenken, German tränken, Gothic dragkjan "to give to drink"). Sense of "to wet thoroughly by throwing liquid over" is from c.1550. Related: Drenched; drenching.