The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.
AUGURY
augury, sign, foretoken, preindication
(noun) an event that is experienced as indicating important things to come; “he hoped it was an augury”; “it was a sign from God”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
augury (countable and uncountable, plural auguries)
A divination based on the appearance and behaviour of animals.
(by extension) An omen or prediction; a foreboding; a prophecy.
An event that is experienced as indicating important things to come.
Synonyms
• See also omen
Hyponyms
• ailuromancy, felidomancy (cats)
• alectryomancy (chickens)
• arachnomancy (spiders)
• auspice (birds)
• entomomancy (insects)
• hippomancy (horses)
• ichthyomancy (fish)
• myomancy (mice)
• myrmomancy (ants)
• ophiomancy (snakes)
• zoomancy (any animal)
Source: Wiktionary
Au"gu*ry, n.; pl. Auguries (. Etym: [L. aucurium.]
1. The art or practice of foretelling events by observing the actions of birds, etc.; divination.
2. An omen; prediction; prognostication; indication of the future; presage. From their flight strange auguries she drew. Drayton. He resigned himself . . . with a docility that gave little augury of his future greatness. Prescott.
3. A rite, ceremony, or observation of an augur.
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
