In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
CONSTRAINS
Verb
constrains
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of constrain
Anagrams
• nonracists, transonics, transsonic
Source: Wiktionary
CONSTRAIN
Con*strain", v. t. [imp. & p.p. Constrained; p.pr. & vb.n. Constraining.] Etym: [OF. constraindre, F. contrainde, L. constringere; con- + stringere to draw tight. See Strain, and. cf. Constrict, Conbstringere.]
1. To secure by bonds; to chain; to bond or con He binds in hains The droway prophet, and his limbs constrains. Dryden. When winter frosts constrain the fields with old. Dryden.
2. To bring into a narrow compass; to compress. How the strait stays the slender waist constrain. Gay.
3. To hold back by force; to restrain; to repress. My sire in caves constrains the winds. Dryden.
4. To compel; to force; to necessiate; to oblige. The love of Christ constraineth us. 2. Cor. v. 14. I was constrained to appeal unto CActs xxviii. 19.
5. To violate; to ravish. [Obs.] Shak.
6. To produce in such a manner as to give an unnatural effet; as, a constrained voice.
Syn.
– To compel; force; drive; impel; urge; press.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Word of the Day
19 November 2024
SALTWORT
(noun) bushy plant of Old World salt marshes and sea beaches having prickly leaves; burned to produce a crude soda ash
Coffee Trivia
