Verb
- To conquer or subdue by superior force, as in battle
- To defeat in any contest or conflict: be victorious over
- To overcome or overpower
The word is used in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner on the first paragraph of part II, “So she vanquish them, horse and foot, just as she had vanquished their fathers before about the smell”
The meaning of the word I understand is that Emily defeat them or overcome them (next generation of Colonel Sartoris whose become mayor and alderman) with her superior force or power that she had liked by saying she did not owe any money to the town and told Tobe, her male servant, to show them to the way out like she did to their father before about the smell.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vanquished
