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.
FRANKED
Verb
franked
simple past tense and past participle of frank
Source: Wiktionary
FRANK
Frank, n. Etym: [OF. franc.]
Definition: A pigsty. [Obs.]
Frank, v. t.
Definition: To shut up in a frank or sty; to pen up; hence, to cram; to fatten. [Obs.] Shak.
Frank, n. (Zoöl.)
Definition: The common heron; -- so called from its note. [Prov. Eng.]
Frank, a. [Compar Franker; superl. Frankest.] Etym: [F. franc free, frank, L. Francus a Frank, fr. OHG. Franko the name of a Germanic people on the Rhine, who afterward founded the French monarchy; cf. AS. franca javelin, Icel. frakka. Cf. Franc, French, a., Franchise, n.]
1. Unbounded by restrictions, limitations, etc.; free. [R.] "It is of frank gift." Spenser.
2. Free in uttering one's real sentiments; not reserved; using no disguise; candid; ingenuous; as, a frank nature, conversation, manner, etc.
3. Liberal; generous; profuse. [Obs.] Frank of civilities that cost them nothing. L'Estrange.
4. Unrestrained; loose; licentious; -- used in a bad sense. Spenser.
Syn.
– Ingenuous; candid; artless; plain; open; unreserved; undisguised; sincere. See Candid, Ingenuous.
Frank, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Franked; p. pr. & vb. n. Franking.]
1. To send by public conveyance free of expense. Dickens.
2. To extempt from charge for postage, as a letter, package, or packet, etc.
Frank, n. Etym: [See Frank, a.]
Definition: The privilege of sending letters or other mail matter, free of postage, or without charge; also, the sign, mark, or signature denoting that a letter or other mail matter is to free of postage. I have said so much, that, if I had not a frank, I must burn my letter and begin again. Cowper.
Frank, n. Etym: [Cf. F. franc. See Frank, a.]
1. (Ethnol.)
Definition: A member of one of the German tribes that in the fifth century overran and conquered Gaul, and established the kingdom of France.
2. A native or inhabitant of Western Europe; a European; -- a term used in the Levant.
3. A French coin. See Franc.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
31 March 2025
IMPROVISED
(adjective) done or made using whatever is available; “crossed the river on improvised bridges”; “the survivors used jury-rigged fishing gear”; “the rock served as a makeshift hammer”
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