In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
WIPING
Verb
wiping
present participle of wipe
Noun
wiping (plural wipings)
The act by which something is wiped.
Material wiped off something.
(slang) A thrashing.
Source: Wiktionary
WIPE
Wipe, n. Etym: [Cf. Sw. vipa, Dan. vibe, the lapwing.] (Zoöl.)
Definition: The lapwing. [Prov. Eng.]
Wipe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wiped; p. pr. & vb. n. Wiping.] Etym: [OE. vipen, AS. wipian; cf. LG. wiep a wisp of straw, Sw. vepa to wrap up, to cuddle one's self up, vepa a blanket; perhaps akin to E. whip.]
1. To rub with something soft for cleaning; to clean or dry by rubbing; as, to wipe the hands or face with a towel. Let me wipe thy face. Shak. I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. 2 Kings xxi. 13.
2. To remove by rubbing; to rub off; to obliterate; -- usually followed by away, off or out. Also used figuratively. "To wipe out our ingratitude." Shak. Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon. Milton.
3. To cheat; to defraud; to trick; -- usually followed by out. [Obs.] Spenser. If they by coveyne [covin] or gile be wiped beside their goods. Robynson (More's Utopia) To wipe a joint (Plumbing), to make a joint, as between pieces of lead pipe, by surrounding the junction with a mass of solder, applied in a plastic condition by means of a rag with which the solder is shaped by rubbing.
– To wipe the nose of, to cheat. [Old Slang]
Wipe, n.
1. Act of rubbing, esp. in order to clean.
2. A blow; a stroke; a hit; a swipe. [Low]
3. A gibe; a jeer; a severe sarcasm. Swift.
4. A handkerchief. [Thieves' Cant or Slang]
5. Stain; brand. [Obs.] "Slavish wipe." Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Word of the Day
31 March 2025
IMPROVISED
(adjective) done or made using whatever is available; “crossed the river on improvised bridges”; “the survivors used jury-rigged fishing gear”; “the rock served as a makeshift hammer”
Coffee Trivia