In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
UNDERTAKING
undertaking, project, task, labor
(noun) any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted; “he prepared for great undertakings”
undertaking
(noun) the trade of a funeral director
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Noun
undertaking (plural undertakings)
The business of an undertaker, or the management of funerals
A promise or pledge; a guarantee
That which is undertaken; any business, work, or project which a person engages in, or attempts to perform; an enterprise
The act of one who undertakes (in either sense)
Verb
undertaking
present participle of undertake
Source: Wiktionary
Un`der*tak"ing, n.
1. The act of one who undertakes, or engages in, any project or business. Hakluyt.
2. That which is undertaken; any business, work, or project which a person engages in, or attempts to perform; an enterprise.
3. Specifically, the business of an undertaker, or the management of funerals.
4. A promise or pledge; a guarantee. A. Trollope.
UNDERTAKE
Un`der*take", v. t. [imp. Undertook; p. p. Undertaken; p. pr. & vb. n. Undertaking.] Etym: [Under + take.]
1. To take upon one's self; to engage in; to enter upon; to take in hand; to begin to perform; to set about; to attempt. To second, or oppose, or undertake The perilous attempt. Milton.
2. Specifically, to take upon one's self solemnly or expressly; to lay one's self under obligation, or to enter into stipulations, to perform or to execute; to covenant; to contract. I 'll undertake to land them on our coast. Shak.
3. Hence, to guarantee; to promise; to affirm. And he was not right fat, I undertake. Dryden. And those two counties I will undertake Your grace shall well and quietly enjoiy. Shak. I dare undertake they will not lose their labor. Woodward.
4. To assume, as a character. [Obs.] Shak.
5. To engage with; to attack. [Obs.] It is not fit your lordship should undertake every companion that you give offense to. Shak.
6. To have knowledge of; to hear. [Obs.] Spenser.
7. To take or have the charge of. [Obs.] "Who undertakes you to your end." Shak. Keep well those that ye undertake. Chaucer.
Un`der*take", v. i.
1. To take upon one's self, or assume, any business, duty, or province. O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me. Isa. xxxviii. 14.
2. To venture; to hazard. [Obs.] It is the cowish terror of his spirit That dare not undertake. Shak.
3. To give a promise or guarantee; to be surety. But on mine honor dare I undertake For good lord Titus' innocence in all. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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Word of the Day
3 April 2025
WHOLE
(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”
Coffee Trivia
