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.
CALUMNY
aspersion, calumny, slander, defamation, denigration
(noun) an abusive attack on a person’s character or good name
defamation, calumny, calumniation, obloquy, traducement, hatchet job
(noun) a false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation of someone’s words or actions
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
calumny (countable and uncountable, plural calumnies)
(countable) A false accusation or charge brought to tarnish another's reputation or standing.
(uncountable) Falsifications or misrepresentations intended to disparage or discredit another.
Synonyms: calumniousness, defamation, obloquy, traducement, vilification, Thesaurus:slander
Verb
calumny (third-person singular simple present calumnies, present participle calumnying, simple past and past participle calumnied)
(transitive, formal) To make false accusations or levy false charges against a person with the intent to tarnish that person's reputation or standing; to calumniate.
Synonym: Thesaurus:defame
Source: Wiktionary
Cal"um*ny, n.; pl. Calumnies. Etym: [L. calumnia, fr. calvi to devise tricks, deceive; cf. F. calomnie. Cf. Challenge, n.]
Definition: False accusation of a crime or offense, maliciously made or reported, to the injury of another; malicious misrepresentation; slander; detraction. "Infamouse calumnies." Motley. Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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Coffee Trivia
