In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
Squab, a. Etym: [Cf. dial. Sw. sqvabb a soft and fat body, sqvabba a fat woman, Icel. kvap jelly, jellylike things, and and E. quab.]
1. Fat; thick; plump; bulky. Nor the squab daughter nor the wife were nice. Betterton.
2. Unfledged; unfeathered; as, a squab pigeon. King.
Squab, n.
1. (Zoöl.)
Definition: A neatling of a pigeon or other similar bird, esp. when very fat and not fully fledged.
2. A person of a short, fat figure. Gorgonious sits abdominous and wan, Like a fat squab upon a Chinese fan. Cowper.
3. A thickly stuffed cushion; especially, one used for the seat of a sofa, couch, or chair; also, a sofa. Punching the squab of chairs and sofas. Dickens. On her large squab you find her spread. Pope.
Squab, adv. Etym: [Cf. dial. Sw. squapp, a word imitative of a splash, and E. squab fat, unfledged.]
Definition: With a heavy fall; plump. [Vulgar] The eagle took the tortoise up into the air, and dropped him down, squab, upon a rock. L'Estrange.
Squab, v. i.
Definition: To fall plump; to strike at one dash, or with a heavy stroke. [Obs.]
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
8 June 2025
(noun) (law) the completion of a legal instrument (such as a contract or deed) by signing it (and perhaps sealing and delivering it) so that it becomes legally binding and enforceable
In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.