Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
SEVERER
Adjective
severer
comparative form of severe
Anagrams
• Reserve, Reveres, reserve, reveres, reverse, veerers
Source: Wiktionary
SEVERE
Se*vere", a. [Compar. Severer; superl. Severest.] Etym: [L. severus; perhaps akin to Gr. swikns innocent, chaste: cf. F. sévère. Cf. Asseverate, Persevere.]
1. Serious in feeeling or manner; sedate; grave; austere; not light, lively, or cheerful. Your looks alter, as your subject does, From kind to fierce, from wanton to severe. Waller.
2. Very strict in judgment, discipline, or government; harsh; not mild or indulgent; rigorous; as, severe criticism; severe punishment. "Custody severe." Milton. Come! you are too severe a moraler. Shak. Let your zeal, if it must be expressed in anger, be always more severe against thyself than against others. Jer. Taylor.
3. Rigidly methodical, or adherent to rule or principle; exactly conformed to a standard; not allowing or employing unneccessary ornament, amplification, etc.; strict; -- said of style, argument, etc. "Restrained by reason and severe principles." Jer. Taylor. The Latin, a most severe and compendious language. Dryden.
4. Sharp; afflictive; distressing; violent; extreme; as, severe pain, anguish, fortune; severe cold.
5. Difficult to be endured; exact; critical; rigorous; as, a severe test.
Syn.
– Strict; grave; austere; stern; morose; rigid; exact; rigorous; hard; rough; harsh; censorious; tart; acrimonious; sarcastic; satirical; cutting; biting; keen; bitter; cruel. See Strict.
– Se*vere"ly, adv.
– Se*vere"ness, n.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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1 January 2025
SOLICITOUSLY
(adverb) in a concerned and solicitous manner; “‘Don’t you feel well?’ his mother asked solicitously”
Coffee Trivia
