Coffee has initially been a food – chewed, not sipped. Early African tribes consume coffee by grinding the berries together, adding some animal fat, and rolling the treats into tiny edible energy balls.
ATTRITION
attrition
(noun) the act of rubbing together; wearing something down by friction
attrition
(noun) a wearing down to weaken or destroy; “a war of attrition”
attrition, contrition, contriteness
(noun) sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation
grinding, abrasion, attrition, detrition
(noun) the wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water or wind or ice
abrasion, attrition, corrasion, detrition
(noun) erosion by friction
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
attrition (countable and uncountable, plural attritions)
Wearing or grinding down by friction.
The gradual reduction in a tangible or intangible resource due to causes that are passive and do not involve productive use of the resource.
(human resources) A gradual, natural reduction in membership or personnel, as through retirement, resignation, or death.
(sciences) The loss of participants during an experiment.
(theology) Imperfect contrition or remorse.
(dentistry) The wearing of teeth due to their grinding.
(linguistics) The loss of a first or second language or a portion of that language.
Synonyms
• (employment reduction by natural causes): natural wastage
Antonyms
• accretion
Verb
attrition (third-person singular simple present attritions, present participle attritioning, simple past and past participle attritioned)
(transitive) To grind or wear down through friction.
Synonym: attrit
(transitive) To reduce the number of (jobs or workers) by not hiring new employees to fill positions that become vacant (often with out).
(intransitive) To undergo a reduction in number.
Anagrams
• titration
Source: Wiktionary
At*tri"tion, n. Etym: [L. attritio: cf. F. attrition.]
1. The act of rubbing together; friction; the act of wearing by friction, or by rubbing substances together; abrasion. Effected by attrition of the inward stomach. Arbuthnot.
2. The state of being worn. Johnson.
3. (Theol.)
Definition: Grief for sin arising only from fear of punishment or feelings of shame. See Contrition. Wallis.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
22 February 2025
ANALYSIS
(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., ‘the father of the bride’ instead of ‘the bride’s father’
Coffee Trivia
