allay v
1. lessen the intensity of or calm; "The news eased my conscience"; "still the fears" [syn: still, relieve, ease]
2. satisfy (thirst); "The cold water quenched his thirst" [syn: quench, slake, assuage]

Allay \Al*lay"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Allayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Allaying.] [OE. alaien, aleggen, to lay down, put down, humble, put an end to, AS. [=a]lecgan; [=a]- (cf. Goth. us-, G. er-, orig. meaning out) + lecgan to lay; but confused with old forms of allege, alloy, alegge. See Lay.]
1. To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm; as, to allay popular excitement; to allay the tumult of the passions.
2. To alleviate; to abate; to mitigate; as, to allay the severity of affliction or the bitterness of adversity. It would allay the burning quality of that fell poison. --Shak. Syn: To alleviate; check; repress; assuage; appease; abate; subdue; destroy; compose; soothe; calm; quiet. See Alleviate.

Allay \Al*lay"\, v. t. To diminish in strength; to abate; to subside. ``When the rage allays.'' --Shak.

Allay \Al*lay"\, n. Alloy. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

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The term appeasement is commonly understood to refer to a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to another power. It was used by European democracies in the 1930s who wished to avoid war with the dictatorships of Germany and Italy, bearing in mind the horrors of the First World War.

The term is most often applied to the foreign policy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain towards Nazi Germany between 1937 and 1939. His policies of avoiding war with Germany have been the subject of intense debate for seventy years among academics, politicians and diplomats. The historian's assessment of Chamberlain has ranged from condemnation for allowing Hitler to grow too strong, to the judgement that he had no alternative and acted in Britain's best interests. At the time, these concessions were widely seen as positive, and the Munich Pact among Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy prompted Chamberlain to announce that he had secured "peace for our time".

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