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.
GENTIAN
gentian
(noun) any of various plants of the family Gentianaceae especially the genera Gentiana and Gentianella and Gentianopsis
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
gentian (plural gentians)
Any of various herbs of the family Gentianaceae found in temperate and mountainous regions with violet or blue flowers.
The dried roots and rhizome of a European gentian (Gentiana lutea), used as a tonic.
Anagrams
• anteing, antigen
Source: Wiktionary
Gen"tian, n. Etym: [OE. genciane, F. gentiane, L. gentiana, fr. Gentius, an Illyrian king, said to have discovered its properties.] (Bot.)
Definition: Any one of a genus (Gentiana) of herbaceous plants with opposite leaves and a tubular four- or five-lobed corolla, usually blue, but sometimes white, yellow, or red. See Illust. of Capsule.
Note: Many species are found on the highest mountains of Europe, Asia, and America, and some are prized for their beauty, as the Alpine (Gentiana verna, Bavarica, and excisa), and the American fringed gentians (G. crinita and G. detonsa). Several are used as tonics, especially the bitter roots of Gentiana lutea, the officinal gentian of the pharmacopoeias. Horse gentian, fever root.
– Yellow gentian (Bot.), the officinal gentian (Gentiana lutea). See Bitterwort.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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23 February 2025
BARGAIN
(noun) an advantageous purchase; “she got a bargain at the auction”; “the stock was a real buy at that price”
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