The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
BESPOKE
bespoke, bespoken, made-to-order, tailored, tailor-made
(adjective) (of clothing) custom-made
BESPEAK
request, ask for, bespeak, call for, quest
(verb) express the need or desire for; “She requested an extra bed in her room”; “She called for room service”; “when you call, always ask for Mary”
bespeak, betoken, indicate, point, signal
(verb) be a signal for or a symptom of; “These symptoms indicate a serious illness”; “Her behavior points to a severe neurosis”; “The economic indicators signal that the euro is undervalued”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
bespoke (not comparable)
Individually or custom made.
Relating to someone who makes custom-made products, especially clothing items.
Usage notes
Primarily used for tailoring, now also used more generally, as fancier term for custom-made, notably for software, as in a “bespoke solution”.
Synonyms
• See also: custom-made
• custom
• custom made
• purpose-built
• tailored
Verb
bespoke
simple past tense of bespeak
(archaic) past participle of bespeak
Source: Wiktionary
Be*spoke",
Definition: imp. & p. p. of Bespeak.
BESPEAK
Be*speak", v. t. [imp. Bespoke, Bespake (Archaic); p. p. Bespoke, Bespoken (; p. pr. & vb. n. Bespeaking.] Etym: [OE. bispeken, AS. besprecan, to speak to, accuse; pref. be- + sprecan to speak. See Speak.]
1. To speak or arrange for beforehand; to order or engage against a future time; as, to bespeak goods, a right, or a favor. Concluding, naturally, that to gratify his avarice was to bespeak his favor. Sir W. Scott.
2. To show beforehand; to foretell; to indicate. [They] bespoke dangers . . . in order to scare the allies. Swift.
3. To betoken; to show; to indicate by external marks or appearances. When the abbot of St. Martin was born, he had so little the figure of a man that it bespoke him rather a monster. Locke.
4. To speak to; to address. [Poetic] He thus the queen bespoke. Dryden.
Be*speak", v. i.
Definition: To speak. [Obs.] Milton.
Be*speak", n.
Definition: A bespeaking. Among actors, a benefit (when a particular play is bespoken.) "The night of her bespeak." Dickens.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
18 April 2024
MOTIVE
(adjective) impelling to action; “it may well be that ethical language has primarily a motivative function”- Arthur Pap; “motive pleas”; “motivating arguments”
Coffee Trivia
