The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
DESPONDED
Verb
desponded
simple past tense and past participle of despond
Source: Wiktionary
DESPOND
De*spond", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Desponded; p. pr. & vb. n. Desponding.] Etym: [L. despond, desponsum, to promise away, promise in marriage, give up, to lose (courage); de- + spond to promise solemnly. See Sponsor.]
Definition: To give up, the will, courage, or spirit; to be thoroughly disheartened; to lose all courage; to become dispirited or depressed; to take an unhopeful view. I should despair, or at least despond. Scott's Letters. Others depress their own minds, [and] despond at the first difficulty. Locke. We wish that . . . desponding patriotism may turn its eyes hitherward, and be assured that foundations of our national power still stand strong. D. Webster.
Syn.
– Despond, Dispair. Despair implies a total loss of hope, which despond does not, at least in every case; yet despondency is often more lasting than despair, or than desperation, which impels to violent action.
De*spond" n.
Definition: Despondency. [Obs.] The slough of despond. Bunyan.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Word of the Day
12 February 2025
MEGACOLON
(noun) an abnormal enlargement of the colon; can be congenital (as in Hirschsprung’s disease) or acquired (as when children refuse to defecate)
Coffee Trivia
