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.
HICCUP
hiccup, hiccough, singultus
(noun) (usually plural) the state of having reflex spasms of the diaphragm accompanied by a rapid closure of the glottis producing an audible sound; sometimes a symptom of indigestion; “how do you cure the hiccups?”
hiccup, hiccough
(verb) breathe spasmodically, and make a sound; “When you have to hiccup, drink a glass of cold water”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
hiccup (plural hiccups)
A spasm of the diaphragm, or the resulting sound.
(by extension) Any spasm or sudden change.
(informal) A minor setback.
Hypernyms
• (spasm of the diaphragm): myoclonus
Verb
hiccup (third-person singular simple present hiccups, present participle hiccupping or hiccuping, simple past and past participle hiccupped or hiccuped)
(intransitive) To produce a hiccup; have the hiccups.
(transitive) To say with a hiccup.
(intransitive) To produce an abortive sound like a hiccup.
Source: Wiktionary
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”
Coffee Trivia
