Is 'quiescing' a valid word? What does it mean?

What does quiescing mean in the following context?

Quiescing a Database

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B19306_01/server.102/b14231/start.htm

"Quiescing a Database" refers to:

Occasionally you might want to put a database in a state that allows only DBA transactions, queries, fetches, or PL/SQL statements. Such a state is referred to as a quiesced state, in the sense that no ongoing non-DBA transactions, queries, fetches, or PL/SQL statements are running in the system.

"Quiescing" is basically the action of putting the database into a quiesced state

Yes, "quiescing" is a valid word, as can be seen in this Wiktionary article:

quiesce (third-person singular simple present quiesces, present participle quiescing, simple past and past participle quiesced)

Nota Bene: Emphasis added

http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Aquiesce - I personally used this word in the late '80s and '90s

When Quiescing a database, you allow all currently running transactions to finish, but any new transaction sees a stopped database.

From the IBM command reference:

Without the ability to quiesce the database, you would need to shut down the database and reopen it in restricted mode. This is a serious restriction, especially for systems requiring 24 x 7 availability. Quiescing a database is much a smaller restriction, because it eliminates the disruption to users and the downtime associated with shutting down and restarting the database.

Definition for quiesce:

quieten: become quiet or quieter;
"The audience fell silent when the speaker entered".

Quiesce - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quiesce is used to describe pausing or altering the state of running processes on a computer, particularly those that might modify information stored on ...

Quiesce - definition of Quiesce by the Free Online Dictionary

v. i., 1. To be silent, as a letter;
to have no sound. [ imp. & p. p. Quiesced ; p. pr. & vb. n. Quiescing .]

Quiescing a Database

The quiesced state lets administrators perform actions that cannot safely ... Without the ability to quiesce the database, you would need to shut down the ...

QUIESCE Command

QUIESCE DATABASE results in all objects in the database being in the quiesced mode. Only the allowed user/group and sysadm, sysmaint, dbadm, ...

Quiesce | Define Quiesce at Dictionary.com

quiesce definition. networking. To render quiescent, i.e. temporarily inactive or disabled. For example to quiesce a device (such as a digital modem). ...

You have some technically accurate definitions, and for what it's worth here's mine.

Quiesce means finish what you're doing, don't start anything new, to become quiet.

I first heard the word used in game theory describing the process of seeking a relatively quiet state of gameplay when iterating or recursing through the tree of possible moves. In chess for example it could be seeking a position where no captures or threats are available. To quiesce means (as I understand it) to literally seek a quiet place.

http://chessprogramming.wikispaces.com/Quiescence+Search