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.
MOAT
moat, fosse
(noun) ditch dug as a fortification and usually filled with water
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
moat (plural moats)
A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation.
(business, figurative) An aspect of a business which makes it more "defensible" from competitors, either because of the nature of its products, services, franchise or other reason.
A circular lowland between a resurgent dome and the walls of the caldera surrounding it.
(obsolete) A hill or mound.
Synonyms
• fosse
Verb
moat (third-person singular simple present moats, present participle moating, simple past and past participle moated)
(transitive) To surround with a moat.
Anagrams
• Amto, Mato, Mota, TMAO, atmo, atom, mota, toma
Source: Wiktionary
Moat, n. Etym: [OF. mote hill, dike, bank, F. motte clod, turf: cf. Sp. & Pg. mota bank or mound of earth, It. motta clod, LL. mota, motta, a hill on which a fort is built, an eminence, a dike, Prov. G. mott bog earth heaped up; or perh. F. motte, and OF. mote, are from a LL. p.p. of L. movere to move (see Move). The name of moat, properly meaning, bank or mound, was transferred to the ditch adjoining: cf. F. dike and ditch.] (Fort.)
Definition: A deep trench around the rampart of a castle or other fortified place, sometimes filled with water; a ditch.
Moat, v. t.
Definition: To surround with a moat. Dryden.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Word of the Day
3 March 2025
STAND
(verb) hold one’s ground; maintain a position; be steadfast or upright; “I am standing my ground and won’t give in!”
Coffee Trivia
