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.
DIFFICULTY
trouble, difficulty
(noun) an effort that is inconvenient; “I went to a lot of trouble”; “he won without any trouble”; “had difficulty walking”; “finished the test only with great difficulty”
difficulty, difficultness
(noun) the quality of being difficult; “they agreed about the difficulty of the climb”
difficulty
(noun) a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result; “serious difficulties were encountered in obtaining a pure reagent”
difficulty
(noun) a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one’s ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome; “grappling with financial difficulties”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
difficulty (countable and uncountable, plural difficulties)
The state of being difficult, or hard to do.
An obstacle that hinders achievement of a goal.
(sometimes, in the plural) Physical danger from the environment, especially with risk of drowning
An objection.
That which cannot be easily understood or believed.
An awkward situation or quarrel.
Source: Wiktionary
Dif"fi*cul*ty, n.; pl. Difficulties. Etym: [L. difficultas, fr. difficilis difficult; dif- = dis- + facilis easy: cf. F. difficulté. See Facile.]
1. The state of being difficult, or hard to do; hardness; arduousness; -- opposed to easiness or facility; as, the difficulty of a task or enterprise; a work of difficulty. Not being able to promote them [the interests of life] on account of the difficulty of the region. James Byrne.
2. Something difficult; a thing hard to do or to understand; that which occasions labor or perplexity, and requires skill perseverance to overcome, solve, or achieve; a hard enterprise; an obstacle; an impediment; as, the difficulties of a science; difficulties in theology. They lie under some difficulties by reason of the emperor's displeasure. Addison.
3. A controversy; a falling out; a disagreement; an objection; a cavil. Measures for terminating all local difficulties. Bancroft.
4. Embarrassment of affairs, especially financial affairs; -- usually in the plural; as, to be in difficulties. In days of difficulty and pressure. Tennyson.
Syn.
– Impediment; obstacle; obstruction; embarrassment; perplexity; exigency; distress; trouble; trial; objection; cavil. See Impediment.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
6 July 2025
AUTHORITARIAN
(adjective) expecting unquestioning obedience; “the timid child of authoritarian parents”; “insufferably overbearing behavior toward the waiter”
Coffee Trivia
