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.
CANVASSES
Noun
canvasses
plural of canvas (UK spelling)
plural of canvass
Verb
canvasses
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of canvas
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of canvass
Source: Wiktionary
CANVAS
Can"vas, n. Etym: [OE. canvas, canevas, F. canevas, LL. canabacius hempen cloth, canvas, L. cannabis hemp, fr. G. Hemp.]
1. A strong cloth made of hemp, flax, or cotton; -- used for tents, sails, etc. By glimmering lanes and walls of canvas led. Tennyson.
2. (a) A coarse cloth so woven as to form regular meshes for working with the needle, as in tapestry, or worsted work. (b) A piece of strong cloth of which the surface has been prepared to receive painting, commonly painting in oil. History . . . does not bring out clearly upon the canvas the details which were familiar. J. H. Newman.
3. Something for which canvas is used: (a) A sail, or a collection of sails. (b) A tent, or a collection of tents. (c) A painting, or a picture on canvas. To suit his canvas to the roughness of the see. Goldsmith. Light, rich as that which glows on the canvas of Claude. Macaulay.
4. A rough draft or model of a song, air, or other literary or musical composition; esp. one to show a poet the measure of the verses he is to make. Grabb.
Can"vas, a.
Definition: Made of, pertaining to, or resembling, canvas or coarse cloth; as, a canvas tent.
CANVASS
Can"vass, v. t. [imp. & p. p. canvassed; p. pr. & vb. n. Canvassing.] Etym: [OF. Canabasser to examine curiously, to search or sift out; properly, to sift through canvas. See Canvas, n.]
1. To sift; to strain; to examine thoroughly; to scrutinize; as, to canvass the votes cast at an election; to canvass a district with reference to its probable vote. I have made careful search on all hands, and canvassed the matter with all possible diligence. Woodward.
2. To examine by discussion; to debate. An opinion that we are likely soon to canvass. Sir W. Hamilton.
3. To go trough, with personal solicitation or public addresses; as, to canvass a district for votes; to canvass a city for subscriptions.
Can"vass, v. i.
Definition: To search thoroughly; to engage in solicitation by traversing a district; as, to canvass for subscriptions or for votes; to canvass for a book, a publisher, or in behalf of a charity; -- commonly followed by for.
Can"vass, n.
1. Close inspection; careful review for verification; as, a canvass of votes. Bacon.
2. Examination in the way of discussion or debate.
3. Search; exploration; solicitation; systematic effort to obtain votes, subscribers, etc. No previous canvass was made for me. Burke.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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