The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
CONFOUND
confuse, confound
(verb) mistake one thing for another; “you are confusing me with the other candidate”; “I mistook her for the secretary”
confuse, throw, fox, befuddle, fuddle, bedevil, confound, discombobulate
(verb) be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly; “These questions confuse even the experts”; “This question completely threw me”; “This question befuddled even the teacher”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
confound (third-person singular simple present confounds, present participle confounding, simple past and past participle confounded)
To perplex or puzzle.
Synonym: puzzle
To fail to see the difference; to mix up; to confuse right and wrong.
Synonyms: confuse, mix up
To make something worse.
To combine in a confused fashion; to mingle so as to make the parts indistinguishable.
To cause to be ashamed; to abash.
To defeat, to frustrate, to thwart.
(dated) To damn (a mild oath).
(archaic) To bring to ruination.
To stun, amaze
Noun
confound (plural confounds)
(statistics) A confounding variable.
Synonym: confounder
Source: Wiktionary
Con*found" (kon*found"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Confounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Confounding.] [F. confondre, fr. L. confundere, -fusum, to pour together; con- + fundere to pour. See Fuse to melt, and cf. Confuse.]
1. To mingle and blend, so that different elements can not be distinguished; to confuse.
They who strip not ideas from the marks men use for them, but confound them with words, must have endless dispute. Locke.
Let us go down, and there confound their language. Gen. xi. 7.
2. To mistake for another; to identify falsely.
They [the tinkers] were generally vagrants and pilferers, and were often confounded with the gypsies. Macaulay.
3. To throw into confusion or disorder; to perplex; to strike with amazement; to dismay.
The gods confound... The Athenians both within and out that wall. Shak.
They trusted in thee and were not confounded. Ps. xxii. 5.
So spake the Son of God, and Satan stood A while as mute, confounded what to say. Milton.
4. To destroy; to ruin; to waste. [Obs.]
One man's lust these many lives confounds. Shak.
How couldst thou in a mile confound an hour Shak.
Syn. -- To abash; confuse; baffle; dismay; astonish; defeat; terrify; mix; blend; intermingle. See Abash.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
17 January 2025
OBSERVE
(verb) conform one’s action or practice to; “keep appointments”; “she never keeps her promises”; “We kept to the original conditions of the contract”
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