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.
MACING
Verb
macing
present participle of mace
Source: Wiktionary
MACE
Mace, n. Etym: [Jav. & Malay. mas, fr. Skr. masha a bean.]
Definition: A money of account in China equal to one tenth of a tael; also, a weight of 57.98 grains. S. W. Williams.
Mace, n. Etym: [F. macis, L. macis, macir, Gr. makaranda the nectar or honey of a flower, a fragrant mango.] (Bot.)
Definition: A kind of spice; the aril which partly covers nutmegs. See Nutmeg.
Note: Red mace is the aril of Myristica tingens, and white mace that of M. Otoba, -- East Indian trees of the same genus with the nutmeg tree.
Mace, n. Etym: [OF. mace, F. masse, from (assumed) L. matea, of which the dim. mateola a kind of mallet or beetle, is found.]
1. A heavy staff or club of metal; a spiked club; -- used as weapon in war before the general use of firearms, especially in the Middle Ages, for breaking metal armor. Chaucer. Death with his mace petrific . . . smote. Milton.
2. Hence: A staff borne by, or carried before, a magistrate as an ensign of his authority. "Swayed the royal mace." Wordsworth.
3. An officer who carries a mace as an emblem of authority. Macaulay.
4. A knobbed mallet used by curriers in dressing leather to make it supple.
5. (Billiards)
Definition: A rod for playing billiards, having one end suited to resting on the table and pushed with one hand. Mace bearer, an officer who carries a mace before person in authority.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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