quintain (plural quintains)
(now historical) An object (generally a post or plank on a support) set up as a target to be tilted at in jousting, or otherwise used as target practice. [from 15th c.]
Source: Wiktionary
Quin"tain, n. Etym: [F. quintaine, LL. quintana; cf. W. chwintan a kind of hymeneal game.]
Definition: An object to be tilted at; -- called also quintel. [Written also quintin.]
Note: A common form in the Middle Ages was an upright post, on the top of which turned a crosspiece, having on one end a broad board, and on the other a sand bag. The endeavor was to strike the board with the lance while riding under, and get away without being hit by the sand bag. "But a quintain, a mere lifeless block." Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
6 June 2025
(noun) wit having a sharp and caustic quality; “he commented with typical pungency”; “the bite of satire”
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.
