Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
ASTONISHMENT
astonishment, amazement
(noun) the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising; “he looked at me in astonishment”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
astonishment (countable and uncountable, plural astonishments)
amazement, great surprise
An amazing thing or phenomenon.
Source: Wiktionary
As*ton"ish*ment, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. est, F. Ă©tonnement.]
1. The condition of one who is stunned. Hence: Numbness; loss of sensation; stupor; loss of sense. [Obs.] A coldness and astonishment in his loins, as folk say. Holland.
2. Dismay; consternation. [Archaic] Spenser.
3. The overpowering emotion excited when something unaccountable, wonderful, or dreadful is presented to the mind; an intense degree of surprise; amazement. Lest the place And my quaint habits breed astonishment. Milton.
4. The object causing such an emotion. Thou shalt become an astonishment. Deut. xxviii. 37.
Syn.
– Amazement; wonder; surprise.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
3 April 2025
WHOLE
(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”
Coffee Trivia
