The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
EXTRACT
excerpt, excerption, extract, selection
(noun) a passage selected from a larger work; “he presented excerpts from William James’ philosophical writings”
infusion, extract
(noun) a solution obtained by steeping or soaking a substance (usually in water)
distill, extract, distil
(verb) extract by the process of distillation; “distill the essence of this compound”
extract
(verb) calculate the root of a number
excerpt, extract, take out
(verb) take out of a literary work in order to cite or copy
extract, pull out, pull, pull up, take out, draw out, rip out, tear out
(verb) remove, usually with some force or effort; also used in an abstract sense; “pull weeds”; “extract a bad tooth”; “take out a splinter”; “extract information from the telegram”
extract
(verb) separate (a metal) from an ore
educe, evoke, elicit, extract, draw out
(verb) deduce (a principle) or construe (a meaning); “We drew out some interesting linguistic data from the native informant”
extract
(verb) get despite difficulties or obstacles; “I extracted a promise from the Dean for two new positions”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
extract (plural extracts)
Something that is extracted or drawn out.
A portion of a book or document, incorporated distinctly in another work; a citation; a quotation.
A decoction, solution, or infusion made by drawing out from any substance that which gives it its essential and characteristic virtue
Any substance extracted is such a way, and characteristic of that from which it is obtained
A solid preparation obtained by evaporating a solution of a drug, etc, or the fresh juice of a plant (distinguished from an abstract).
(obsolete) A peculiar principle (fundamental essence) once erroneously supposed to form the basis of all vegetable extracts.
Ancestry; descent.
A draft or copy of writing; a certified copy of the proceedings in an action and the judgment therein, with an order for execution.
Synonyms
• (that which is extracted): extraction; See also decrement
• (principle): extractive principle
• (ancestry, descent): origin, extraction
Verb
extract (third-person singular simple present extracts, present participle extracting, simple past extracted, past participle (archaic) extraught or extracted)
(transitive) To draw out; to pull out; to remove forcibly from a fixed position, as by traction or suction, etc.
(transitive) To withdraw by expression, distillation, or other mechanical or chemical process. Compare abstract (transitive verb).
(transitive) To take by selection; to choose out; to cite or quote, as a passage from a book.
(transitive) To select parts of a whole
(transitive, arithmetic) To determine (a root of a number).
Synonyms
• (to draw out): outdraw
• (to take by selection): sunder out
Source: Wiktionary
Ex*tract", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Extracted; p. pr. & vb. n. Extracting.] Etym: [L. extractus, p. p. of extrahere to extract; ex out + trahere to draw. See Trace, and cf. Estreat.]
1. To draw out or forth; to pull out; to remove forcibly from a fixed position, as by traction or suction, etc.; as, to extract a tooth from its socket, a stump from the earth, a splinter from the finger. The bee Sits on the bloom extracting liquid sweet. Milton.
2. To withdraw by expression, distillation, or other mechanical or chemical process; as, to extract an essence. Cf. Abstract, v. t., 6. Sunbeams may be extracted from cucumbers, but the process is tedious.
3. To take by selection; to choose out; to cite or quote, as a passage from a book. I have extracted out of that pamphlet a few notorious falsehoods. Swift. To extract the root (Math.), to ascertain the root of a number or quantity.
Ex"tract`, n.
1. That which is extracted or drawn out.
2. A portion of a book or document, separately transcribed; a citation; a quotation.
3. A decoction, solution, or infusion made by drawing out from any substance that which gives it its essential and characteristic virtue; essence; as, extract of beef; extract of dandelion; also, any substance so extracted, and characteristic of that from which it is obtained; as, quinine is the most important extract of Peruvian bark.
4. (Med.)
Definition: A solid preparation obtained by evaporating a solution of a drug, etc., or the fresh juice of a plant; -- distinguished from an abstract. See Abstract, n., 4.
5. (Old Chem.)
Definition: A peculiar principle once erroneously supposed to form the basis of all vegetable extracts; -- called also the extractive principle. [Obs.]
6. Extraction; descent. [Obs.] South.
7. (Scots Law)
Definition: A draught or copy of writing; certified copy of the proceedings in an action and the judgement therein, with an order for execution. Tomlins. Fluid extract (Med.), a concentrated liquid preparation, containing a definite proportion of the active principles of a medicinal substance. At present a fluid gram of extract should represent a gram of the crude drug.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Word of the Day
2 March 2025
LOITER
(verb) be about; “The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square”; “Who is this man that is hanging around the department?”
Coffee Trivia
