publican, tavern keeper
(noun) the keeper of a public house
Source: WordNet® 3.1
publican (plural publicans)
(British) The landlord of a public house.
(historical) A tax collector in Ancient Rome.
Source: Wiktionary
Pub"li*can, n. Etym: [L. publicanus: cf. F. publicain. See Public.]
1. (Rom. Antiq.)
Definition: A farmer of the taxes and public revenues; hence, a collector of toll or tribute. The inferior officers of this class were often oppressive in their exactions, and were regarded with great detestation. As Jesus at meat . . . many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. Matt. 1x. 10. How like a fawning publican he looks! Shak.
2. The keeper of an inn or public house; one licensed to retail beer, spirits, or wine.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
27 May 2025
(noun) the property of being directional or maintaining a direction; “the directionality of written English is from left to right”
The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.
