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.
WRITHE
writhe, wrestle, wriggle, worm, squirm, twist
(verb) to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling); “The prisoner writhed in discomfort”; “The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt’s embrace”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
writhe (third-person singular simple present writhes, present participle writhing, simple past (archaic) wrothe or writhed, past participle (archaic) writhen or writhed)
(transitive) To twist, to wring (something).
(transitive) To contort (a part of the body).
(intransitive) To twist or contort the body; to be distorted.
(transitive) To extort.
Noun
writhe (plural writhes)
(rare) A contortion.
(knot theory) The number of negative crossings subtracted from the number of positive crossings in a knot
Anagrams
• Wither, whiter, wither, wither-
Source: Wiktionary
Writhe, v. t. [imp. Writhed; p. p. Writhed, Obs. or Poetic Writhen (; p. pr. & vb. n. Writhing.] Etym: [OE. writhen, AS. wri to twist; akin to OHG. ridan, Icel. ri, Sw. vrida, Dan. vride. Cf. Wreathe, Wrest, Wroth.]
1. To twist; to turn; now, usually, to twist or turn so as to distort; to wring. "With writhing [turning] of a pin." Chaucer. Then Satan first knew pain, And writhed him to and fro. Milton. Her mouth she writhed, her forehead taught to frown. Dryden. His battle-writhen arms, and mighty hands. Tennyson.
2. To wrest; to distort; to pervert. The reason which he yieldeth showeth the least part of his meaning to be that whereunto his words are writhed. Hooker.
3. To extort; to wring; to wrest. [R.] The nobility hesitated not to follow the example of their sovereign in writhing money from them by every species of oppression. Sir W. Scott.
Writhe, v. i.
Definition: To twist or contort the body; to be distorted; as, to writhe with agony. Also used figuratively. After every attempt, he felt that he had failed, and writhed with shame and vexation. Macaulay.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
18 April 2025
GROIN
(noun) the crease at the junction of the inner part of the thigh with the trunk together with the adjacent region and often including the external genitals
Coffee Trivia
