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.
BIRCH
birch, birchen, birken
(adjective) consisting of or made of wood of the birch tree
birch, birch rod
(noun) a switch consisting of a twig or a bundle of twigs from a birch tree; used to hit people as punishment; “my father never spared the birch”
birch, birch tree
(noun) any betulaceous tree or shrub of the genus Betula having a thin peeling bark
birch
(noun) hard close-grained wood of any of various birch trees; used especially in furniture and interior finishes and plywood
birch
(verb) whip with a birch twig
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
birch (countable and uncountable, plural birches)
Any of various trees of the genus Betula, native to countries in the Northern Hemisphere.
A hard wood taken from the birch tree, typically used to make furniture.
A stick, rod or bundle of twigs made from birch wood, used for punishment.
A birch-bark canoe.
Synonyms
• (stick, rod or bundle of twigs): makepeace, switch
Verb
birch (third-person singular simple present birches, present participle birching, simple past and past participle birched)
to punish with a stick, bundle of twigs, or rod made of birch wood.
to punish as though one were using a stick, bundle of twigs, or rod made of birch wood.
Proper noun
Birch (plural Birches)
A surname.
A nickname of the surname Birchall.
Statistics
• According to the 2010 United States Census, Birch is the 2954th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 12161 individuals. Birch is most common among White (82.79%) and Black/African American (10.95%) individuals.
Source: Wiktionary
Birch, n.; pl. Birches. Etym: [OE. birche, birk, AS. birce, beorc; akin to Icel. björk, Sw. björk, Dan. birk, D. berk, OHG. piricha, MHG. birche, birke, G. birke, Russ. bereza, Pol. brzoza, Serv. breza, Skr. bh. sq. root254. Cf. 1st Birk.]
1. A tree of several species, constituting the genus Betula; as, the white or common birch (B. alba) (also called silver birch and lady birch); the dwarf birch (B. glandulosa); the paper or canoe birch (B. papyracea); the yellow birch (B. lutea); the black or cherry birch (B. lenta).
2. The wood or timber of the birch.
3. A birch twig or birch twigs, used for flogging.
Note: The twigs of the common European birch (B. alba), being tough and slender, were formerly much used for rods in schools. They were also made into brooms. The threatening twigs of birch. Shak.
4. A birch-bark canoe. Birch of Jamaica, a species (Bursera gummifera) of turpentine tree.
– Birch partridge. (Zoöl.) See Ruffed grouse.
– Birch wine, wine made of the spring sap of the birch.
– Oil of birch. (a) An oil obtained from the bark of the common European birch (Betula alba), and used in the preparation of genuine ( and sometimes of the imitation) Russia leather, to which it gives its peculiar odor. (b) An oil prepared from the black birch (B. lenta), said to be identical with the oil of wintergreen, for which it is largely sold.
Birch, a.
Definition: Of or pertaining to the birch; birchen.
Birch, v. t. [imp & p. p. Birched; p. pr. & vb. n. Birching.]
Definition: To whip with a birch rod or twig; to flog.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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