assuage

Etymology

From Middle English aswagen, from Old French asuagier (“to appease, to calm”), from Vulgar Latin *assuāviō (“I sweeten, I butter up, I calm”), derived from Latin ad- + suāvis (“sweet”) + -iō.

verb

1. (transitive) To lessen the intensity of, to mitigate or relieve (hunger, emotion, pain etc.).
   1864 November 21, Abraham Lincoln (signed) or John Hay, letter to Mrs. Bixby in Boston I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost.
2. (transitive) To pacify or soothe (someone).
3. (intransitive, obsolete) To calm down, become less violent (of passion, hunger etc.); to subside, to abate.