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.
deodands
plural of deodand
Source: Wiktionary
De"o*dand`, n. Etym: [LL. deodandum, fr. L. Deo dandum to be given to God.] (Old Eng. Law)
Definition: A personal chattel which had caused the death of a person, and for that reason was given to God, that is, forfeited to the crown, to be applied to pious uses, and distributed in alms by the high almoner. Thus, if a cart ran over a man and killed him, it was forfeited as a deodand.
Note: Deodands are unknown in American law, and in 1846 were abolished in England.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
8 November 2024
(noun) the act of furnishing an equivalent person or thing in the place of another; “replacing the star will not be easy”
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.