In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
SCREED
screed
(noun) an accurately levelled strip of material placed on a wall or floor as guide for the even application of plaster or concrete
screed
(noun) a long piece of writing
screed
(noun) a long monotonous harangue
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
screed (plural screeds)
(chiefly, Ireland, Newfoundland, Scotland, dated) A piece or narrow strip cut or torn off from a larger whole; a shred. [from mid 14th c.]
Synonym: scrid
(chiefly, regional Britain, Scotland, dated) A piece of land, especially one that is narrow.
(chiefly, Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, dated) A rent, a tear.
Synonyms: cut, rip
A piece of writing (such as an article, letter, or list) or a speech, especially if long.
(by extension) A speech or piece of writing which contains angry and extended criticism; a diatribe, a harangue. [from late 18th c.]
Synonyms: polemic, rant, tirade
Chiefly in the plural form screeds: a large quantity.
(construction, masonry) Senses relating to building construction and masonry.
A tool, usually a long strip of wood or other material, placed on a floor to be covered with concrete, a wall to be plastered, etc, as a guide for producing a smooth, flat surface.
A tool such as a long strip of wood or other material which is drawn over a wet layer of concrete, plaster, etc, to make it smooth and flat; also, a machine that achieves this effect; a screeder.
Synonym: strickle
A smooth, flat layer of concrete, plaster, or similar material, especially if acting as a base for paving stones, tiles, wooden planks, etc.
Etymology 2
Verb
screed (third-person singular simple present screeds, present participle screeding, simple past and past participle screeded)
(transitive, chiefly, Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, dated) To rend, to shred, to tear.
Synonyms: cut, rip
(transitive, Scotland, also, figurative, dated) To read or repeat from memory fluently or glibly; to reel off.
(transitive, construction, masonry) To use a screed to produce a smooth, flat surface of concrete, plaster, or similar material; also (generally) to put down a layer of concrete, plaster, etc.
(intransitive, Scotland) To become rent or torn.
Etymology 3
Noun
screed (plural screeds) (Northern Ireland, Scotland)
(chiefly, humorous) A (discordant) sound or tune played on bagpipes, a fiddle, or a pipe.
The sound of something scratching or tearing.
Verb
screed (third-person singular simple present screeds, present participle screeding, simple past and past participle screeded) (Northern Ireland, Scotland, rare)
(intransitive, chiefly, humorous) To play bagpipes, a fiddle, or a pipe.
(intransitive) To make a discordant or harsh scratching or tearing sound.
(transitive, chiefly, humorous, obsolete) To play (a sound or tune) on bagpipes, a fiddle, or a pipe.
Etymology 4
Adjective
screed (not comparable)
Strewn with scree.
Anagrams
• Creeds, ceders, creeds
Source: Wiktionary
Screed, n. Etym: [Prov. E., a shred, the border of a cap. See Shred.]
1. (Arch.) (a) A strip of plaster of the thickness proposed for the coat, applied to the wall at intervals of four or five feet, as a guide. (b) A wooden straightedge used to lay across the plaster screed, as a limit for the thickness of the coat.
2. A fragment; a portion; a shred. [Scot.]
Screed, n. Etym: [See 1st Screed. For sense 2 cf. also Gael. sgread an outcry.]
1. A breach or rent; a breaking forth into a loud, shrill sound; as, martial screeds.
2. An harangue; a long tirade on any subject. The old carl gae them a screed of doctrine; ye might have heard him a mile down the wind. Sir W. Scott.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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