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.
REFUSE
garbage, refuse, food waste, scraps
(noun) food that is discarded (as from a kitchen)
refuse, decline
(verb) show unwillingness towards; “he declined to join the group on a hike”
deny, refuse
(verb) refuse to let have; “She denies me every pleasure”; “he denies her her weekly allowance”
refuse, reject, pass up, turn down, decline
(verb) refuse to accept; “He refused my offer of hospitality”
reject, turn down, turn away, refuse
(verb) refuse entrance or membership; “They turned away hundreds of fans”; “Black people were often rejected by country clubs”
defy, resist, refuse
(verb) elude, especially in a baffling way; “This behavior defies explanation”
resist, reject, refuse
(verb) resist immunologically the introduction of some foreign tissue or organ; “His body rejected the liver of the donor”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Adjective
refuse (comparative more refuse, superlative most refuse)
Discarded, rejected.
Noun
refuse (uncountable)
Collectively, items or material that have been discarded; rubbish, garbage.
Synonyms
• discards
• garbage (US)
• rubbish (UK)
• trash (US)
• See also trash
Etymology 2
Verb
refuse (third-person singular simple present refuses, present participle refusing, simple past and past participle refused)
(transitive) To decline (a request or demand).
(intransitive) To decline a request or demand, forbear; to withhold permission.
(military) To throw back, or cause to keep back (as the centre, a wing, or a flank), out of the regular alignment when troops are about to engage the enemy.
(obsolete, transitive) To disown.
Usage notes
• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See English catenative verbs
Synonyms
• (decline): decline, reject, nill, say no to, turn down, veto, withsake, withsay
• (decline a request or demand): say no, forbear
Noun
refuse
(obsolete) refusal
Etymology 3
Verb
refuse (third-person singular simple present refuses, present participle refusing, simple past and past participle refused)
To melt again.
Source: Wiktionary
Re*fuse" (r*fz"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Refused (-fzd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Refusing.] Etym: [F. refuser, either from (assumed) LL. refusare to refuse, v. freq. of L. refundere to pour back, give back, restore (see Refund to repay), or. fr. L. recusare to decline, refuse cf. Accuse, Ruse), influenced by L. refutare to drive back, repel, refute. Cf. Refute.]
1. To deny, as a request, demand, invitation, or command; to decline to do or grant. That never yet refused your hest. Chaucer.
2. (Mil.)
Definition: To throw back, or cause to keep back (as the center, a wing, or a flank), out of the regular aligment when troops aras, to refuse the right wing while the left wing attacks.
3. To decline to accept; to reject; to deny the request or petition of; as, to refuse a suitor. The cunning workman never doth refuse The meanest tool that he may chance to use. Herbert.
4. To disown. [Obs.] "Refuse thy name." Shak.
Re*fuse", v. i.
Definition: To deny compliance; not to comply. Too proud to ask, too humble to refuse. Garth. If ye refuse . . . ye shall be devoured with the sword. Isa. i. 20.
Re*fuse", n.
Definition: Refusal. [Obs.] Fairfax.
Ref`use (rf"s;277), n. Etym: [F. refus refusal, also, that which is refused. See Refuse to deny.]
Definition: That which is refused or rejected as useless; waste or worthless matter.
Syn.
– Dregs; sediment; scum; recrement; dross.
Ref"use, a.
Definition: Refused; rejected; hence; left as unworthy of acceptance; of no value; worthless. Everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. 1. Sam. xv. 9.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
23 February 2025
BARGAIN
(noun) an advantageous purchase; “she got a bargain at the auction”; “the stock was a real buy at that price”
Coffee Trivia
