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.
EMBARRASS
embarrass, abash
(verb) cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious
obstruct, blockade, block, hinder, stymie, stymy, embarrass
(verb) hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of; “His brother blocked him at every turn”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
embarrass (third-person singular simple present embarrasses, present participle embarrassing, simple past and past participle embarrassed)
(transitive) to humiliate; to disrupt somebody's composure or comfort with acting publicly or freely; to disconcert; to abash
(transitive) To hinder from liberty of movement; to impede; to obstruct.
(transitive) To involve in difficulties concerning money matters; to encumber with debt; to beset with urgent claims or demands.
Synonyms
• (humiliate): abash, discomfit, disconcert, humiliate, shame
• See also abash
Source: Wiktionary
Em*bar"rass, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Embarrassed; p. pr. & vb. n. Embarrassing.] Etym: [F. embarrasser (cf. Sp. embarazar, Pg. embara, Pr. barras bar); pref. em- (L. in) + LL. barra bar. See Bar.]
1. To hinder from freedom of thought, speech, or action by something which impedes or confuses mental action; to perplex; to discompose; to disconcert; as, laughter may embarrass an orator.
2. To hinder from liberty of movement; to impede; to obstruct; as, business is embarrassed; public affairs are embarrassed.
3. (Com.)
Definition: To involve in difficulties concerning money matters; to incumber with debt; to beset with urgent claims or demands; -- said of a person or his affairs; as, a man or his business is embarrassed when he can not meet his pecuniary engagements.
Syn.
– To hinder; perplex; entangle; confuse; puzzle; disconcert; abash; distress.
– To Embarrass, Puzzle, Perplex. We are puzzled when our faculties are confused by something we do not understand. We are perplexed when our feelings, as well as judgment, are so affected that we know not how to decide or act. We are embarrassed when there is some bar or hindrance upon us which impedes our powers of thought, speech, or motion. A schoolboy is puzzled by a difficult sum; a reasoner is perplexed by the subtleties of his opponent; a youth is sometimes so embarrassed before strangers as to lose his presence of mind.
Em*bar"rass, n. Etym: [F. embarras. See Embarrass, v. t.]
Definition: Embarrassment. [Obs.] Bp. Warburton.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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