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.
DEGENERATING
Verb
degenerating
present participle of degenerate
Source: Wiktionary
DEGENERATE
De*gen"er*ate, a. Etym: [L. degeneratus, p. p. of degenerare to degenerate, cause to degenerate, fr. degener base, degenerate, that departs from its race or kind; de- + genus race, kind. See Kin relationship.]
Definition: Having become worse than one's kind, or one's former state; having declined in worth; having lost in goodness; deteriorated; degraded; unworthy; base; low. Faint-hearted and degenerate king. Shak. A degenerate and degraded state. Milton. Degenerate from their ancient blood. Swift. These degenerate days. Pope. I had planted thee a noble vine . . . : how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me Jer. ii. 21.
De*gen"er*ate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Degenerated; p. pr. & vb. n. Degenerating.]
1. To be or grow worse than one's kind, or than one was originally; hence, to be inferior; to grow poorer, meaner, or more vicious; to decline in good qualities; to deteriorate. When wit transgresseth decency, it degenerates into insolence and impiety. Tillotson.
2. (Biol.)
Definition: To fall off from the normal quality or the healthy structure of its kind; to become of a lower type.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
5 February 2025
CARE
(noun) activity involved in maintaining something in good working order; “he wrote the manual on car care”
Coffee Trivia
