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.
BIRTHING
parturition, birth, giving birth, birthing
(noun) the process of giving birth
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
birthing (plural birthings)
(sometimes, attributive) The act of giving birth.
(nautical) Anything added to raise the sides of a ship.
Verb
birthing
present participle of birth
Source: Wiktionary
Birth"ing, n. (Naut.)
Definition: Anything added to raise the sides of a ship. Bailey.
BIRTH
Birth, n. Etym: [OE. burth, birth, AS. beor, gebyrd, fr. beran to bear, bring forth; akin to D. geboorate, OHG. burt, giburt, G. geburt, Icel. bur, Skr. bhrti bearing, supporting; cf. Ir. & Gael. beirthe born, brought forth. Bear, and cf. Berth.]
1. The act or fact of coming into life, or of being born; -- generally applied to human beings; as, the birth of a son.
2. Lineage; extraction; descent; sometimes, high birth; noble extraction. Elected without reference to birth, but solely for qualifications. Prescott.
3. The condition to which a person is born; natural state or position; inherited disposition or tendency. A foe by birth to Troy's unhappy name. Dryden.
4. The act of bringing forth; as, she had two children at a birth. "At her next birth." Milton.
5. That which is born; that which is produced, whether animal or vegetable. Poets are far rarer births that kings. B. Jonson. Others hatch their eggs and tend the birth till it is able to shift for itself. Addison.
6. Origin; beginning; as, the birth of an empire. New birth (Theol.), regeneration, or the commencement of a religious life.
Syn.
– Parentage; extraction; lineage; race; family.
Birth, n.
Definition: See Berth. [Obs.] De Foe.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
9 June 2025
HERMAPHRODITE
(noun) one having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made
Coffee Trivia
