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.
LEAVEN
leaven, leavening
(noun) an influence that works subtly to lighten or modify something; “his sermons benefited from a leavening of humor”
leaven, leavening
(noun) a substance used to produce fermentation in dough or a liquid
raise, leaven, prove
(verb) cause to puff up with a leaven; “unleavened bread”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
leaven (countable and uncountable, plural leavens)
Any agent used to make dough rise or to have a similar effect on baked goods.
(figurative) Anything that makes a general assimilating change in the mass.
Synonyms
• (any agent used to make dough rise): leavening agent, raising agent
Hypernyms
• (any agent used to make dough rise): agent, substance
Hyponyms
• (any agent used to make dough rise): baking powder, yeast
Verb
leaven (third-person singular simple present leavens, present participle leavening, simple past and past participle leavened)
(transitive) To add a leavening agent.
(transitive) To cause to rise by fermentation.
(transitive, figuratively) To temper an action or decision.
(transitive, figuratively) To imbue; to infect; to vitiate.
To rise or become larger.
Source: Wiktionary
Leav"en, n. Etym: [OE. levain, levein, F. levain, L. levamen alleviation, mitigation; but taken in the sense of, a raising, that which raises, fr. levare to raise. See Lever, n.]
1. Any substance that produces, or is designed to produce, fermentation, as in dough or liquids; esp., a portion of fermenting dough, which, mixed with a larger quantity of dough, produces a general change in the mass, and renders it light; yeast; barm.
2. Anything which makes a general assimilating (especially a corrupting) change in the mass. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Luke xii. 1.
Leav"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Leavened; p. pr. & vb. n. Leavening.]
1. To make light by the action of leaven; to cause to ferment. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. 1 Cor. v. 6.
2. To imbue; to infect; to vitiate. With these and the like deceivable doctrines, he leavens also his prayer. Milton.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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Word of the Day
23 November 2024
THEORETICAL
(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”
Coffee Trivia
