In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
SKIRMISHING
Verb
skirmishing
present participle of skirmish
Noun
skirmishing (plural skirmishings)
A brief battle; a skirmish.
Source: Wiktionary
SKIRMISH
Skir"mish, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Skirmished; p. pr. & vb. n. Skirmishing.] Etym: [OE. skirmishen, scarmishen, OF. escremir, eskermir, to fence, fight, F. escrimer, of German origin; cf. OHG. scirmen to protect, defend, G. schirmen, OHG. scirm, scerm, protection, shield, G. schirm; perhaps akin to Gr. Scaramouch, Scrimmage.]
Definition: To fight slightly or in small parties; to engage in a skirmish or skirmishes; to act as skirmishers.
Skir"mish, n.Etym: [OE. scarmishe, scrymishe. See Skirmish, v. i.]
1. A slight fight in war; a light or desultory combat between detachments from armies, or between detached and small bodies of troops.
2. A slight contest. They never meet but there's a skirmish of wit. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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Word of the Day
19 April 2025
CATCH
(verb) grasp with the mind or develop an understanding of; “did you catch that allusion?”; “We caught something of his theory in the lecture”; “don’t catch your meaning”; “did you get it?”; “She didn’t get the joke”; “I just don’t get him”
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