Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be āsatanic.ā However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
TALL
improbable, marvelous, marvellous, tall
(adjective) too improbable to admit of belief; āa tall storyā
tall
(adjective) impressively difficult; āa tall orderā
grandiloquent, magniloquent, tall
(adjective) lofty in style; āhe engages in so much tall talk, one never really realizes what he is sayingā
tall
(adjective) great in vertical dimension; high in stature; ātall peopleā; ātall buildingsā; ātall treesā; ātall shipsā
tall
(noun) a garment size for a tall person
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
tall (comparative taller, superlative tallest)
(of a person) Having a vertical extent greater than the average. For example, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be considered to be tall.
(of a building, etc.) Having its top a long way up; having a great vertical (and often greater than horizontal) extent; high.
(of a story) Hard to believe, such as a tall story or a tall tale.
(chiefly, US, of a cup of coffee) A cup of coffee smaller than grande, usually 8 ounces.
(obsolete) Obsequious; obedient.
(obsolete) Seemly; suitable; fitting, becoming, comely; attractive, handsome.
(obsolete) Bold; brave; courageous; valiant.
(archaic) Fine; proper; admirable; great; excellent.
Antonyms
• (of a person): short
• (of a building): short, low, low-rise
Noun
tall (plural talls)
(possibly, nonstandard) Someone or something that is tall.
Source: Wiktionary
Tall, a. [Compar. Taller; superl. Tallest.] Etym: [OE. tal seemly, elegant, docile; of uncertain origin; cf. AS. un-tala, un-tale, bad, Goth. untals indocile, disobedient, uninstructed, or W. & Corn. tal high, Ir. talla meet, fit, proper, just.]
1. High in stature; having a considerable, or an unusual, extension upward; long and comparatively slender; having the diameter or lateral extent small in proportion to the height; as, a tall person, tree, or mast. Two of far nobler shape, erect and tall. Milton.
2. Brave; bold; courageous. [Obs.] As tall a trencherman As e'er demolished a pye fortification. Massinger. His companions, being almost in despair of victory, were suddenly recomforted by Sir William Stanley, which came to succors with three thousand tall men. Grafton.
3. Fine; splendid; excellent; also, extravagant; excessive. [Obs. or Slang] B. Jonson.
Syn.
– High; lofty.
– Tall, High, Lofty. High is the generic term, and is applied to anything which is elevated or raised above another thing. Tall specifically describes that which has a small diameter in proportion to its height; hence, we speak of a tall man, a tall steeple, a tall mast, etc., but not of a tall hill. Lofty has a special reference to the expanse above us, and denotes an imposing height; as, a lofty mountain; a lofty room. Tall is now properly applied only to physical objects; high and lofty have a moral acceptation; as, high thought, purpose, etc.; lofty aspirations; a lofty genius. Lofty is the stronger word, and is usually coupled with the grand or admirable.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
22 February 2025
ANALYSIS
(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., āthe father of the brideā instead of āthe brideās fatherā
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