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.
DOGFISH
dogfish
(noun) any of several small sharks
bowfin, grindle, dogfish, Amia calva
(noun) primitive long-bodied carnivorous freshwater fish with a very long dorsal fin; found in sluggish waters of North America
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
dogfish (plural dogfish or dogfishes)
Any of various small sharks
especially those from the family Squalidae
a catshark, any shark from family Scyliorhinidae
a kitefin shark, any shark from family Dalatiidae
(UK) Scyliorhinus canicula or Scyliorhinus stellaris
(Azores Is.) Scyliorhinus canicula
(Canada) Squalus suckleyi
(Bermuda) Mustelus canis
(Barbados) Bodianus rufus
(Guyana) Ginglymostoma cirratum or Mustelus canis
(Trinidad and Tobago) Ginglymostoma cirratum
(Namibia) Squalus acanthias, Squalus blainville, Squalus megalops, or Squalus mitsukurii
(US) The bowfin, Amia calva.
Synonyms
• seadog
Source: Wiktionary
Dog"fish`, n. (Zoöl.)
1. A small shark, of many species, of the genera Mustelus, Scyllium, Spinax, etc.
Note: The European spotted dogfishes (Scyllium catudus, and S. canicula) are very abundant; the American smooth, or blue dogfish is Mustelus canis; the common picked, or horned dogfish (Squalus acanthias) abundant on both sides of the Atlantic.
2. The bowfin (Amia calva). See Bowfin.
3. The burbot of Lake Erie.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
4 April 2025
GUILLOTINE
(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”
Coffee Trivia
