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.
BLASPHEMY
profanation, desecration, blasphemy, sacrilege
(noun) blasphemous behavior; the act of depriving something of its sacred character; “desecration of the Holy Sabbath”
blasphemy
(noun) blasphemous language (expressing disrespect for God or for something sacred)
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
blasphemy (countable and uncountable, plural blasphemies)
irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable
the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for any religion's deity or deities
(by extension) the act of disregarding a convention
Synonyms
• (irreverent language): cursing, cussing, execration, imprecation, profanity, swearing
• (unholy act): profanation, desecration, sacrilege, violation
Antonyms
• reverence, veneration, worship, adoration
Source: Wiktionary
Blas"phe*my, n. Etym: [L. blasphemia, Gr. : cf. OF. blasphemie.]
1. An indignity offered to God in words, writing, or signs; impiously irreverent words or signs addressed to, or used in reference to, God; speaking evil of God; also, the act of claiming the attributes or prerogatives of deity.
Note: When used generally in statutes or at common law, blasphemy is the use of irreverent words or signs in reference to the Supreme Being in such a way as to produce scandal or provoke violence.
2. Figuratively, of things held in high honor: Calumny; abuse; vilification. Punished for his blasphemy against learning. Bacon.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
7 November 2024
ERASE
(verb) remove by or as if by rubbing or erasing; “Please erase the formula on the blackboard--it is wrong!”
Coffee Trivia
