The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
WITHERINGLY
witheringly
(adverb) in a withering manner; “guns fired witheringly at the railroad cars”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adverb
witheringly (comparative more witheringly, superlative most witheringly)
In a withering manner.
Source: Wiktionary
WITHERING
With"er*ing, a.
Definition: Tending to wither; causing to shrink or fade.
– With"er*ing*ly, adv.
WITHER
With"er, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Withered; p. pr. & vb. n. Withering.] Etym: [OE. wideren; probably the same word as wederen to weather (see Weather, v. & n.); or cf. G. verwittern to decay, to be weather- beaten, Lith. vysti to wither.]
1. To fade; to lose freshness; to become sapless; to become sapless; to dry or shrivel up. Shall he hot pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither Ezek. xvii. 9.
2. To lose or want animal moisture; to waste; to pin This is man, old, wrinkled, faded, withered. Shak. There was a man which had his hand withered. Matt. xii. 10. Now warm in love, now with'ring in the grave. Dryden.
3. To lose vigor or power; to languish; to pass away. "Names that must not wither." Byron. States thrive or wither as moons wax and wane. Cowper.
With"er, v. t.
1. To cause to fade, and become dry. The sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth. James i. 11.
2. To cause to shrink, wrinkle, or decay, for want of animal moisture. "Age can not wither her." Shak. Shot forth pernicious fire Among the accursed, that withered all their strength. Milton.
3. To cause to languish, perish, or pass away; to blight; as, a reputation withered by calumny. The passions and the cares that wither life. Bryant.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Word of the Day
11 January 2025
COWBERRY
(noun) low evergreen shrub of high north temperate regions of Europe and Asia and America bearing red edible berries
Coffee Trivia
