The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
EDIFY
enlighten, edify
(verb) make understand; “Can you enlighten me--I don’t understand this proposal”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
edify (third-person singular simple present edifies, present participle edifying, simple past and past participle edified)
(now rare) To build, construct.
(transitive) To instruct or improve morally or intellectually.
Anagrams
• deify
Source: Wiktionary
Ed"i*fy, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Edified; p. pr. & vb. n. Edifying.] Etym: [F. Ă©difier, L. aedificare; aedes a building, house, orig., a fireplace (akin to Gr. idh to kindle, OHG. eit funeral pile, AS. ad, OIr. aed fire) + facere to make. See Fact, -fy.]
1. To build; to construct. [Archaic] There was a holy chapel edified. Spenser.
2. To instruct and improve, especially in moral and religious knowledge; to teach. It does not appear probable that our dispute [about miracles] would either edify or enlighten the public. Gibbon.
3. To teach or persuade. [Obs.] Bacon.
Ed"i*fy, v. i.
Definition: To improve. [R.] Swift.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
17 June 2025
RECREANT
(adjective) having deserted a cause or principle; “some provinces had proved recreant”; “renegade supporters of the usurper”
Coffee Trivia
