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.
NEPHELINE
nepheline, nephelite
(noun) a whitish mineral consisting of sodium aluminum silicate or potassium aluminum silicate in crystalline form; used in the manufacture of ceramics and enamels
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
nepheline (countable and uncountable, plural nephelines)
(mineral) A feldspathoid mineral of silica-poor igneous, plutonic and volcanic rocks. Chemically, nepheline is a plagioclase feldspar with insufficient silica to satisfy the chemical bonds. Because of the unfilled bonds, nepheline weathers rapidly and can only be seen as inclusions in freshly broken rock.
Synonyms
• nephelite
Source: Wiktionary
Neph"e*line, Neph"e*lite, n. Etym: [gr. néphéline. Cf. Nebula.] (Min.)
Definition: A mineral occuring at Vesuvius, in glassy agonal crystals; also elsewhere, in grayish or greenish masses having a greasy luster, as the variety elæolite. It is a silicate of aluminia, soda, and potash.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
15 November 2024
HISTOLOGICALLY
(adverb) involving the use of histology or histological techniques; “histologically identifiable structures”
Coffee Trivia