Coffee has initially been a food – chewed, not sipped. Early African tribes consume coffee by grinding the berries together, adding some animal fat, and rolling the treats into tiny edible energy balls.
PRINCIPLE
rationale, principle
(noun) (law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature); “the rationale for capital punishment”; “the principles of internal-combustion engines”
principle
(noun) a basic truth or law or assumption; “the principles of democracy”
principle, rule
(noun) a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system; “the principle of the conservation of mass”; “the principle of jet propulsion”; “the right-hand rule for inductive fields”
principle, rule
(noun) a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct; “their principles of composition characterized all their works”
principle
(noun) a rule or standard especially of good behavior; “a man of principle”; “he will not violate his principles”
principle, precept
(noun) rule of personal conduct
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
principle (plural principles)
A fundamental assumption or guiding belief.
A rule used to choose among solutions to a problem.
(sometimes, pluralized) Moral rule or aspect.
(physics) A rule or law of nature, or the basic idea on how the laws of nature are applied.
A fundamental essence, particularly one producing a given quality.
(obsolete) A beginning.
A source, or origin; that from which anything proceeds; fundamental substance or energy; primordial substance; ultimate element, or cause.
An original faculty or endowment.
Usage notes
• Principle ("moral rule"), as a noun, is often confused with principal, which can be an adjective ("most important") or a noun ("school principal"). A memory aid to avoid this confusion is: "The principal alphabetic principle places A before E".
Synonyms
• (moral rule or aspect): tenet
Verb
principle (third-person singular simple present principles, present participle principling, simple past and past participle principled)
(transitive) To equip with principles; to establish, or fix, in certain principles; to impress with any tenet or rule of conduct.
Source: Wiktionary
Prin"ci*ple, n. Etym: [F. principe, L. principium beginning, foundation, fr. princeps, -cipis. See Prince.]
1. Beginning; commencement. [Obs.] Doubting sad end of principle unsound. Spenser.
2. A source, or origin; that from which anything proceeds; fundamental substance or energy; primordial substance; ultimate element, or cause.
The soul of man is an active principle. Tillotson.
3. An original faculty or endowment. Nature in your principles hath set [benignity]. Chaucer. Those active principles whose direct and ultimate object is the communication either of enjoyment or suffering. Stewart.
4. A fundamental truth; a comprehensive law or doctrine, from which others are derived, or on which others are founded; a general truth; an elementary proposition; a maxim; an axiom; a postulate. Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection. Heb. vi. 1. A good principle, not rightly understood, may prove as hurtful as a bad. Milton.
5. A settled rule of action; a governing law of conduct; an opinion or belief which exercises a directing influence on the life and behavior; a rule (usually, a right rule) of conduct consistently directing one's actions; as, a person of no principle. All kinds of dishonesty destroy our pretenses to an honest principle of mind. Law.
6. (Chem.)
Definition: Any original inherent constituent which characterizes a substance, or gives it its essential properties, and which can usually be separated by analysis; -- applied especially to drugs, plant extracts, etc. Cathartine is the bitter, purgative principle of senna. Gregory. Bitter principle, Principle of contradiction, etc. See under Bitter, Contradiction, etc.
Prin"ci*ple, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Principled; p. pr. & vb. n. Principling.]
Definition: To equip with principles; to establish, or fix, in certain principles; to impress with any tenet, or rule of conduct, good or ill. Governors should be well principled. L'Estrange. Let an enthusiast be principled that he or his teacher is inspired. Locke.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
27 November 2024
NAUSEATING
(adjective) causing or able to cause nausea; “a nauseating smell”; “nauseous offal”; “a sickening stench”
Coffee Trivia
