Due, a. Etym: [OF. deu, F. dĂ», p. p. of devoir to owe, fr. L. debere. See Debt, Habit, and cf. Duty.]
1. Owed, as a debt; that ought to be paid or done to or for another; payable; owing and demandable.
2. Justly claimed as a right or property; proper; suitable; becoming; appropriate; fit. Her obedience, which is due to me. Shak. With dirges due, in sad array, Slow through the churchway path we saw him borne. Gray.
3. Such as (a thing) ought to be; fulfilling obligation; proper; lawful; regular; appointed; sufficient; exact; as, due process of law; due service; in due time.
4. Appointed or required to arrive at a given time; as, the steamer was due yesterday.
5. Owing; ascribable, as to a cause. This effect is due to the attraction of the sun. J. D. Forbes.
Due, adv.
Definition: Directly; exactly; as, a due east course.
Due, n.
1. That which is owed; debt; that which one contracts to pay, or do, to or for another; that which belongs or may be claimed as a right; whatever custom, law, or morality requires to be done; a fee; a toll. He will give the devil his due. Shak. Yearly little dues of wheat, and wine, and oil. Tennyson.
2. Right; just title or claim. The key of this infernal pit by due . . . I keep. Milton.
Due, v. t.
Definition: To endue. [Obs.] Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
4 May 2025
(adjective) (of something seen or heard) clearly defined; “a sharp photographic image”; “the sharp crack of a twig”; “the crisp snap of dry leaves underfoot”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
