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.
TILLANDSIA
Tillandsia, genus Tillandsia
(noun) large genus of epiphytic or terrestrial sparse-rooting tropical plants usually forming dense clumps or pendant masses
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
From the genus name.
Noun
tillandsia (plural tillandsias)
Any of the genus Tillandsia of American epiphytes.
Source: Wiktionary
Til*land"si*a, n. Etym: [NL. So named after Prof. Tillands, of Abo, in Finland.] (Bot.)
Definition: A genus of epiphytic endogenous plants found in the Southern United States and in tropical America. Tillandsia usneoides, called long moss, black moss, Spanish moss, and Florida moss, has a very slender pendulous branching stem, and forms great hanging tufts on the branches of trees. It is often used for stuffing mattresses.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
20 September 2024
NECESSITATE
(verb) require as useful, just, or proper; “It takes nerve to do what she did”; “success usually requires hard work”; “This job asks a lot of patience and skill”; “This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice”; “This dinner calls for a spectacular dessert”; “This intervention does not postulate a patient’s consent”
Coffee Trivia
