In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
debar, forefend, forfend, obviate, deflect, avert, head off, stave off, fend off, avoid, ward off
(verb) prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; “Let’s avoid a confrontation”; “head off a confrontation”; “avert a strike”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
forefend (third-person singular simple present forefends, present participle forefending, simple past and past participle forefended)
Alternative spelling of forfend
• offender, reoffend
Source: Wiktionary
Fore*fend", v. t. Etym: [OE. forfenden; pref. for- + fenden to fend. See Fend, v. t.]
Definition: To hinder; to fend off; to avert; to prevent the approach of; to forbid or prohibit. See Forfend. God forefend it should ever be recorded in our history. Landor. It would be a far better work . . . to forefend the cruelty. I. Taylor.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
21 April 2025
(noun) a reference work (often in several volumes) containing articles on various topics (often arranged in alphabetical order) dealing with the entire range of human knowledge or with some particular specialty
In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.