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.
FACTITIOUS
factitious
(adjective) not produced by natural forces; “brokers created a factitious demand for stocks”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
factitious (comparative more factitious, superlative most factitious)
Created by humans; artificial.
Counterfeit, fabricated, fake.
Source: Wiktionary
Fac*ti"tious, a. Etym: [L. factitius, fr. facere to make. See Fact, and cf. Fetich.]
Definition: Made by art, in distinction from what is produced by nature; artificial; sham; formed by, or adapted to, an artificial or conventional, in distinction from a natural, standard or rule; not natural; as, factitious cinnabar or jewels; a factitious taste.
– Fac-ti"tious*ly, adv.
– Fac*ti"tious-ness, n. He acquires a factitious propensity, he forms an incorrigible habit, of desultory reading. De Quincey.
Syn.
– Unnatural.
– Factitious, Unnatural. Anything is unnatural when it departs in any way from its simple or normal state; it is factitious when it is wrought out or wrought up by labor and effort, as, a factitious excitement. An unnatural demand for any article of merchandise is one which exceeds the ordinary rate of consumption; a factitious demand is one created by active exertions for the purpose. An unnatural alarm is one greater than the occasion requires; a factitious alarm is one wrought up with care and effort.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
3 February 2025
CRAZY
(adjective) possessed by inordinate excitement; “the crowd went crazy”; “was crazy to try his new bicycle”
Coffee Trivia
