In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
DESPOIL
rape, spoil, despoil, violate, plunder
(verb) destroy and strip of its possession; “The soldiers raped the beautiful country”
plunder, despoil, loot, reave, strip, rifle, ransack, pillage, foray
(verb) steal goods; take as spoils; “During the earthquake people looted the stores that were deserted by their owners”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
despoil (third-person singular simple present despoils, present participle despoiling, simple past and past participle despoiled)
(transitive) To plunder; to pillage; take spoil from.
(transitive) To violently strip (someone), with indirect object of their possessions etc.; to rob.
(obsolete, transitive or reflexive) To strip (someone) of their clothes; to undress.
Noun
despoil (plural despoils)
(obsolete) Plunder; spoliation.
Anagrams
• diploes, diploĂ«s, dipoles, elopids, peloids, soliped, spoiled
Source: Wiktionary
De*spoil", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Despoiled; p. pr. & vb. n. Despoiling.] Etym: [OF. despoiller, F. dépouiller, L. despoliare, despoliatum; de- + spoliare to strip, rob, spolium spoil, booty. Cf. Spoil, Despoliation.]
1. To strip, as of clothing; to divest or unclothe. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. To deprive for spoil; to plunder; to rob; to pillage; to strip; to divest; -- usually followed by of. The clothed earth is then bare, Despoiled is the summer fair. Gower. A law which restored to them an immense domain of which they had been despoiled. Macaulay. Despoiled of innocence, of faith, of bliss. Milton.
Syn.
– To strip; deprive; rob; bereave; rifle.
De*spoil", n.
Definition: Spoil. [Obs.] Wolsey.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
6 May 2025
HEEDLESS
(adjective) marked by or paying little heed or attention; “We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics”--Franklin D. Roosevelt; “heedless of danger”; “heedless of the child’s crying”
Coffee Trivia
