mainspring
(noun) the most important spring in a mechanical device (especially a clock or watch); as it uncoils it drives the mechanism
Source: WordNet® 3.1
mainspring (plural mainsprings)
The principal spring of a clockwork mechanism, which drives it by uncoiling.
(figuratively) The most important reason for something (Cf. spring "origin of something" (literary) (often in the plural) the springs of her ambition).
Source: Wiktionary
Main"spring`, n.
Definition: The principal or most important spring in a piece of mechanism, especially the moving spring of a watch or clock or the spring in a gunlock which impels the hammer. Hence: The chief or most powerful motive; the efficient cause of action.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
2 April 2025
(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”
Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans, the seeds of berries from certain Coffea species. When coffee berries turn from green to bright red – indicating ripeness – they are picked, processed, and dried. Dried coffee seeds are roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor.
