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.
STIFFEN
stiffen
(verb) make stiff or stiffer; “Stiffen the cream by adding gelatine”
stiffen
(verb) become stiff or stiffer; “He stiffened when he saw his boss enter the room”
stiffen, tighten, tighten up, constrain
(verb) severely restrict in scope or extent; “tighten the rules”; “stiffen the regulations”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
stiffen (third-person singular simple present stiffens, present participle stiffening, simple past and past participle stiffened)
(transitive) To make stiff.
(intransitive) To become stiff.
Synonyms
• starken
Anagrams
• infefts
Source: Wiktionary
Stiff"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stiffened; p. pr. & vb. n. Stiffening.] Etym: [See Stiff.]
1. tiono make stiff; to make less pliant or flexible; as, to stiffen cloth with starch. Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood. Shak.
2. To inspissate; to make more thick or viscous; as, to stiffen paste.
3. To make torpid; to benumb.
Stiff"en, v. i.
Definition: To become stiff or stiffer, in any sense of the adjective. Like bristles rose my stiffening hair. Dryden. The tender soil then stiffening by degrees. Dryden. Some souls we see, Grow hard and stiffen with adversity. Dryden.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
14 March 2025
PARASITISM
(noun) the relation between two different kinds of organisms in which one receives benefits from the other by causing damage to it (usually not fatal damage)
Coffee Trivia
