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.
HACKNEY
hackney
(noun) a compact breed of harness horse
hackney, hackney carriage, hackney coach
(noun) a carriage for hire
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Proper noun
Hackney
A London borough in Greater London, England, where once upon a time many horses were pastured.
A town in eastern London, England, in this borough.
An English habitational surname.
One of several breeds of compact English horses: see hackney
(in compounds) (means of transportation): see hackney.
Etymology
Noun
hackney (plural hackneys)
(archaic) An ordinary horse.
A carriage for hire or a cab.
A horse used to ride or drive.
A breed of English horse.
(archaic) A hired drudge; a hireling; a prostitute.
Adjective
hackney (not comparable)
Offered for hire; hence, much used; trite; mean.
Verb
hackney (third-person singular simple present hackneys, present participle hackneying, simple past and past participle hackneyed)
(transitive) To make uninteresting or trite by frequent use.
(transitive) To use as a hackney.
(transitive) To carry in a hackney coach.
Source: Wiktionary
Hack"ney, n.; pl. Hackneys. Etym: [OE. haceney, hacenay; cf. F. haquenée a pacing horse, an ambling nag, OF. also haquenée, Sp. hacanea, OSp. facanea, D. hakkenei, also OF. haque horse, Sp. haca, OSp. faca; perh akin to E. hack to cut, and orig. meaning, a jolting horse. Cf. Hack a horse, Nag.]
1. A horse for riding or driving; a nag; a pony. Chaucer.
2. A horse or pony kept for hire.
3. A carriage kept for hire; a hack; a hackney coach.
4. A hired drudge; a hireling; a prostitute.
Hack"ney, a.
Definition: Let out for hire; devoted to common use; hence, much used; trite; mean; as, hackney coaches; hackney authors. "Hackney tongue." Roscommon.
Hack"ney, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hackneyed; p. pr. & vb. n. Hackneying.]
1. To devote to common or frequent use, as a horse or carriage; to wear out in common service; to make trite or commonplace; as, a hackneyed metaphor or quotation. Had I lavish of my presence been, So common-hackneyed in the eyes of men. Shak.
2. To carry in a hackney coach. Cowper.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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