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.
SWAYS
Noun
sways
plural of sway
Verb
sways
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of sway
Anagrams
• wassy
Source: Wiktionary
SWAY
Sway, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Swayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Swaying.] Etym: [OE. sweyen, Icel. sveigja, akin to E. swing; cf. D. zwaaijen to wield, swing. See Swing, and cf. Swag, v. i.]
1. To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield; as, to sway the scepter. As sparkles from the anvil rise, When heavy hammers on the wedge are swayed. Spenser.
2. To influence or direct by power and authority; by persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide. The will of man is by his reason swayed. Shak. She could not sway her house. Shak. This was the race To sway the world, and land and sea subdue. Dryden.
3. To cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; warp; as, reeds swayed by wind; judgment swayed by passion. As bowls run true by being made On purpose false, and to be swayed. Hudibras. Let not temporal and little advantages sway you against a more durable interest. Tillotson.
4. (Naut.)
Definition: To hoist; as, to sway up the yards.
Syn.
– To bias; rule; govern; direct; influence; swing; move; wave; wield.
Sway, v. i.
1. To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline. The balance sways on our part. Bacon.
2. To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward.
3. To have weight or influence. The example of sundry churches . . . doth sway much. Hooker.
4. To bear sway; to rule; to govern. Hadst thou swayed as kings should do. Shak.
Sway, n.
1. The act of swaying; a swaying motion; the swing or sweep of a weapon. With huge two-handed sway brandished aloft. Milton.
2. Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side; as, the sway of desires. A. Tucker.
3. Preponderance; turn or cast of balance. Expert When to advance, or stand, or turn the sway Of battle. Milton.
4. Rule; dominion; control. Cowper. When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, The post of honor is a private station. Addison.
5. A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Syn.
– Rule; dominion; power; empire; control; influence; direction; preponderance; ascendency.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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Word of the Day
25 December 2024
UNAMBIGUOUS
(adjective) having or exhibiting a single clearly defined meaning; “As a horror, apartheid...is absolutely unambiguous”- Mario Vargas Llosa
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