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.
OTIOSE
faineant, indolent, lazy, otiose, slothful, work-shy
(adjective) disinclined to work or exertion; “faineant kings under whose rule the country languished”; “an indolent hanger-on”; “too lazy to wash the dishes”; “shiftless idle youth”; “slothful employees”; “the unemployed are not necessarily work-shy”
futile, ineffectual, otiose, unavailing, meaningless
(adjective) producing no result or effect; “a futile effort”; “the therapy was ineffectual”; “an otiose undertaking”; “an unavailing attempt”
otiose, pointless, purposeless, senseless, superfluous, wasted
(adjective) serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being; “otiose lines in a play”; “advice is wasted words”; “a pointless remark”; “a life essentially purposeless”; “senseless violence”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
otiose (comparative more otiose, superlative most otiose)
Having no effect.
Done in a careless or perfunctory manner.
Reluctant to work or to exert oneself.
Of a person, possessing a bored indolence.
Having no reason for being (raison d’être); having no point, reason, or purpose.
Synonyms
• (resulting in no effect): futile, ineffective
• (reluctant to work): indolent, lazy, sluggish
• (having no reason or purpose): superfluous, irrelevant, pointless
Antonyms
• (resulting in no effect): productive, useful
• (reluctant to work): hardworking
• (having no reason or purpose): essential, necessary
Source: Wiktionary
O"ti*ose`, a. Etym: [L. otiosus, fr. otium ease.]
Definition: Being at leisure or ease; unemployed; indolent; idle. "Otiose assent." Paley. The true keeping of the Sabbath was not that otiose and unAlford.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Word of the Day
3 April 2025
WHOLE
(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”
Coffee Trivia
