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.
BARIUM
barium, Ba, atomic number
(noun) a soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group; found in barite
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
barium (usually uncountable, plural bariums)
The chemical element (symbol Ba) with an atomic number of 56. It is a soft, reactive, silvery alkaline earth metal.
(countable) A single atom of this element.
(medicine) barium sulfate suspension.
Anagrams
• BIMARU, Umbria
Source: Wiktionary
Ba"ri*um, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. bary`s heavy.] (Chem.)
Definition: One of the elements, belonging to the alkaline earth group; a metal having a silver-white color, and melting at a very high temperature. It is difficult to obtain the pure metal, from the facility with which it becomes oxidized in the air. Atomic weight, 137. Symbol, Ba. Its oxide called baryta. [Rarely written barytum.]
Note: Some of the compounds of this element are remarkable for their high specific gravity, as the sulphate, called heavy spar, and the like. The oxide was called barote, by Guyton de Morveau, which name was changed by Lavoisier to baryta, whence the name of the metal.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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