ESCURIAL

Es*cu"ri*al, n. Etym: [Prop. Sp. escorial, i. e., a hill or heap of rubbish, earth, and stones brought out of a mine, fr. escoria dross of metal, L. scoria, fr. Gr. Scoria.]

Definition: A palace and mausoleum of the kinds of Spain, being a vast and wonderful structure about twenty-five miles northwest of Madrid.

Note: The ground plan is said to be in the form of a gridiron, the structure being designed in honor of St. Lawrence, who suffered martyrdom by being broiled on gridiron; but the resemblance is very slight. It is nearly square, inclosing several courts, and has a projecting mass which stands for the handle.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

24 December 2024

INTUITIVELY

(adverb) in an intuitive manner; “inventors seem to have chosen intuitively a combination of explosive and aggressive sounds as warning signals to be used on automobiles”


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Coffee Trivia

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.

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