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.
ZEUGMA
zeugma
(noun) use of a verb with two or more complements, playing on the verb’s polysemy, for humorous effect; “‘Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave’ is an example of zeugma”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
zeugma (plural zeugmata or zeugmas)
(rhetoric) The act of using a word, particularly an adjective or verb, to apply to more than one noun when its sense is appropriate to only one.
(rhetoric) Syllepsis.
Usage notes
Some writers distinguish between zeugma and syllepsis, while others do not.
Hypernyms
• brachylogy
Coordinate terms
• syllepsis
Source: Wiktionary
Zeug"ma, n. Etym: [L., from Gr. Yoke.] (Gram.)
Definition: A figure by which an adjective or verb, which agrees with a nearer word, is, by way of supplement, referred also to another more remote; as, "hic illius arma, hic currus fuit;" where fuit, which agrees directly with currus, is referred also to arma.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
22 January 2025
MEGALITH
(noun) memorial consisting of a very large stone forming part of a prehistoric structure (especially in western Europe)
Coffee Trivia
