In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
DETAIN
delay, detain, hold up
(verb) cause to be slowed down or delayed; “Traffic was delayed by the bad weather”; “she delayed the work that she didn’t want to perform”
stay, detain, delay
(verb) stop or halt; “Please stay the bloodshed!”
confine, detain
(verb) deprive of freedom; take into confinement
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
detain (third-person singular simple present detains, present participle detaining, simple past and past participle detained)
(transitive) To keep someone from proceeding by holding them back or making claims on their attention.
(transitive) To put under custody.
(transitive) To keep back or from; to withhold.
(transitive) To seize goods for official purposes.
Anagrams
• Danite, Tienda, indate, nidate, tienda
Source: Wiktionary
De*tain", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Detained; p. pr. & vb. n. Detaining.] Etym: [F. détenir, L. detinere, detentum; de + tenere to hold. See Tenable.]
1. To keep back or from; to withhold. Detain not the wages of the hireling. Jer. Taylor.
2. To restrain from proceeding; to stay or stop; to delay; as, we were detained by an accident. Let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. Judges xiii. 15.
3. To hold or keep in custody.
Syn.
– To withhold; retain; stop; stay; arrest; check; retard; delay; hinder.
De*tain", n.
Definition: Detention. [Obs.] Spenser.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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Coffee Trivia
