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.
AVOW
avow, avouch
(verb) admit openly and bluntly; make no bones about
affirm, verify, assert, avow, aver, swan, swear
(verb) to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true; “Before God I swear I am innocent”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
avow (third-person singular simple present avows, present participle avowing, simple past and past participle avowed)
(transitive) To declare openly and boldly, as something believed to be right; to own, acknowledge or confess frankly.
(transitive) To bind or devote by a vow.
(legal) To acknowledge and justify, as an act done. See avowry.
Antonyms
• disavow
Noun
avow
(obsolete) avowal
Source: Wiktionary
A*vow", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Avowed (p. pr. & vb. n. Avowing.] Etym: [F. avouver, fr. L. advocare to call to (whence the meanings, to call upon as superior; recognize as lord, own, confess); ad + vocare to call. See Advocate, Avouch.]
1. To declare openly, as something believed to be right; to own or acknowledge frankly; as, a man avows his principles or his crimes. Which I to be the of Israel's God Avow, and challenge Dagon to the test. Milton.
2. (Law)
Definition: To acknowledge and justify, as an act done. See Avowry. Blackstone.
Syn.
– To acknowledge; own; confess. See Confess.
A*vow", n, Etym: [Cf. F. aveu.]
Definition: Avowal. [Obs.] Dryden.
A*vow", v. t. & i. Etym: [OF. avouer, fr. LL. votare to vow, fr. L. votun. See Vote, n.]
Definition: To bind, or to devote, by a vow. [Obs.] Wyclif.
A*vow", n.
Definition: A vow or determination. [Archaic]
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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Word of the Day
15 April 2025
DOOMED
(adjective) marked by or promising bad fortune; “their business venture was doomed from the start”; “an ill-fated business venture”; “an ill-starred romance”; “the unlucky prisoner was again put in irons”- W.H.Prescott
Coffee Trivia