In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
NAVVY
drudge, peon, navvy, galley slave
(noun) a laborer who is obliged to do menial work
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
navvy (plural navvies)
(chiefly British) A laborer on a civil engineering project such as a canal or railroad.
Verb
navvy (third-person singular simple present navvies, present participle navvying, simple past and past participle navvied)
(British, intransitive) To carry out physical labor on a civil engineering project.
Source: Wiktionary
Nav"vy, n.; pl. Navies. Etym: [Abbreviated fr. navigator.]
Definition: Originally, a laborer on canals for internal navigation; hence, a laborer on other public works, as in building railroads, embankments, etc. [Eng.]
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
23 January 2025
LEFT
(adjective) being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the west when facing north; “my left hand”; “left center field”; “the left bank of a river is bank on your left side when you are facing downstream”
Coffee Trivia
