In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
EXPROPRIATE
expropriate
(verb) deprive of possessions; “The Communist government expropriated the landowners”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
expropriate (third-person singular simple present expropriates, present participle expropriating, simple past and past participle expropriated)
(transitive) To deprive a person of (their private property) for public use.
Coordinate term: nationalize
Source: Wiktionary
Ex*pro"pri*ate, v. t. Etym: [L. ex out, from + proprius one's own: cf. F. exproprier.]
Definition: To put out of one's possession; to surrender the ownership of; also, to deprive of possession or proprietary rights. Boyle. Expropriate these [bad landlords] as the monks were expropriated by Act of Parliament. M. Arnold.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
10 June 2025
COMMUNICATIONS
(noun) the discipline that studies the principles of transmiting information and the methods by which it is delivered (as print or radio or television etc.); “communications is his major field of study”
Coffee Trivia
