Borrowed Words and Phrases Trivia

1. British People are well known for a 'cup of char'. What are they drinking with an uplifted pinkie?

From Quiz Eating Our Words-Chinese Style

Answer: Tea

The word 'char' (or cha) is an Anglican form of the Chinese word 'tcha', meaning tea, and is also close to the Indian word 'chai'. So by ordering char tea, or chai tea, you're actually ordering tea tea. The practice of steeping tea leaves in water originated in China somewhere around 2700BC and it first spread to Japan and then Europe. The Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza, reportedly introduced the beverage to the court of King Charles II and tea became popular throughout England by the 1720's. Phoenix Rising's leith90 brewed this question and poured it into the quiz, then happily sipped on a cup of coffee. No pinkie extended.

From Quiz More Loanwords from Chinese

Answer: Wind and water

In Chinese pinyin, "feng" means wing and "shui" means water. This is an ancient practice of using "invisible forces" that bring the universe, earth, and humanity in harmony. It is a practice used to orient buildings, tombs, residences and structures in an auspicious manner. The site is determined by consideration of features such as bodies of water, stars or the compass.

From Quiz Loanwords from Chinese

Answer: Cheongsam

A cheongsam in Cantonese is a traditional one piece, tight fitting dress with a slit skirt, mandarin collar, and features of Manchu origin. The word "cheongsam" comes from the Shanghai term "zansae". It is "qipao" in Chinese Pinyin. The dress was popularized by many Shanghai tailors who fled to Hong Kong after the Communist takeover in 1949.

From Quiz Speaking Italian: in English

Answer: Onion

This is a word which has a totally different meaning in English from the original Italian. The English chipolata is a thin sausage while the Italian name refers to a dish of onions. The Italian dish is cipollata, deriving its name from the word for onion, as quoted in the question. According to the Oxford dictionary, the word made its way into English via French in the late nineteenth century.

From Quiz I Got These Words from India

Answer: Avatar

The Sanskrit word avatar has its roots in the term 'to cross over' and originally meant the earthly manifestation of a deity. In Hinduism, it is most commonly used to refer to the ten different incarnations of Vishnu, one of the triumvirate which also includes Brahma and Shiva. While avatar is used to describe a physical manifestation of an idea or philosophy, in video games it is used for a character assumed by the player in the game.

From Quiz Take Me To Your Lieder!

Answer: Latin

"Bus" is a shortened form of "omnibus", which means "for everyone" in Latin. The term "voiture (carriage) omnibus" was first used in Paris in about 1820.

From Quiz The Long Journey to English

Answer: Garage

Cars were introduced to the world in 1886 when the intrepid Karl Benz first designed his motor wagon. These were looked upon as a rarity for the following twenty years until the American Henry Ford, in 1908, came up with the idea of his famous Model T Ford, a car inexpensive enough for the general public to purchase. By the early 20th century, the word for a shelter for a car, when not in use, was introduced into the French as the word "garer". Its translation was "to shelter". "Garer" then drove over to the English language when it evolved into the word "garage".

From Quiz Schadenfreude!

Answer: German

Schadenfreude is a word of German origin. The Norwegian interpretation of the word is 'skadefryd', in the Netherlands they say 'Leedvermaak' and in Sweden it is called 'Skadeglädje'.

From Quiz Parlez-Vous Inglés, Mein Herr?

Answer: Finnish

"Sauna", a word meaning a room used as a hot-air or steam bath to refresh and clean the body, comes from Finnish. They're great places to be on a cold winter evening. Those of us in the northern latitudes salute the Finns for this most useful invention.

From Quiz Latin in the Modern World

Answer: Per day

"Per diems" cover business expenses employees run into while travelling on business for their employer. "Per diems" replace the need for the paperwork involved with expense reports following business travel.

From Quiz Speaking German: in English

Answer: Dementia

The condition was first identified in 1906 by Alois Alzheimer, and refers to mental deterioration. It normally affects those over sixty-five, although it can affect younger people when it is described as 'early-onset' Alzheimer's. Symptoms include memory loss, confusion and mood swings and it is incurable.

From Quiz Excuse My French

Answer: Entree

'Entrée' means 'entrance' in French. Interestingly, while the word 'entrée' is used in English-speaking countries around the world, the meaning can differ. In many regions, the word takes on its French meaning and refers to an appetizer course in a meal - an entrance into the meal, if you will. In North American English, however, the word 'entrée' typically refers to the meal's main course.

From Quiz What Does My French Quote Mean?

Answer: On the menu with each dish priced separately

The "carte" in this expression simply means the card on which the individual dishes are listed and priced. The expression usually means everything can be ordered separately. This can be contrasted against the term "table d'hôte" which is a complete meal with the one overall price. It is believed the first time the expression was cited in English was in the 1826 book "Notes and Reflections During a Ramble in Germany" which was written by one Joseph Sherer.

From Quiz What Does My Latin Quote Mean?

Answer: For this purpose

This literal translation means "for this" but it's more commonly used to replace the phrase "for this purpose" when used today. It could best be described as the answer or solution for a particular and specific problem or task only, which cannot be applied to anything else but that problem or task.

From Quiz Where in the World...

Answer: Portugal

Marmalade was originally made from quinces and the name comes from the Portuguese marmelada or marmelo - a quince.

From Quiz Foreign Words in English

Answer: Czech

Czech writer and painter Josef Capek had created the word robot for his brother's theatre play. Karel Capek used the word for first time in his play "R.U.R." The name "robot" is derived from Czech word "robota" meaning "corvée"; "robot" is someone doing a corvée or chore. In addition, Slovak has the word "robota" and Russian has a similar word "rabota"; both with the meaning "work." Corvée is a type of forced labor when a cotter is forced to work for a feudal lord free of charge.

From Quiz World Words

Answer: Greek

"Eureka" is a cry of triumph. It was used by many gold-diggers in Australia at around 1840 when they found gold. "Eureka" was also used by astronauts when they landed on the moon.

From Quiz Common Foreign Words And Phrases 10

Answer: Friend

The Spanish word 'amigo' is also used in the Portuguese language and it means 'friend or 'comrade'. It has been widely used in America due to the influence of early Spanish explorers, and it comes from the Latin word 'amicus'. Many American movies have used the phrase 'Adios amigo', which means 'goodbye friend'.

From Quiz Common Foreign Words And Phrases 9

Answer: Fully informed

The French phrase AU FAIT literally means 'to the point'. The phrase also means 'expert' and 'fully informed'. The French word 'au' means 'at the' and the word 'fait' means 'fact'. In British English it is used to mean 'familiar' or 'conversant'. E.g., 'The rest of the class were not really au fait with my ideas about the new curriculum'.

From Quiz Common Foreign Words And Phrases 8

Answer: Taken for granted

The Latin phrase A PRIORI means 'not supported by fact', 'taken for granted' and 'self evident'. It relates to something that is based on theory rather than experiment, which requires no evidence for its validation or support. The medieval Latin words 'a' means 'from' and 'priori' means 'former'. E.g., 'saving starving children is a good thing a priori'.

From Quiz Common Foreign Words And Phrases 7

Answer: To a sickening degree

The Latin phrase AD NAUSEAM means 'to a sickening degree' and 'to the point of nausea'. E.g., 'the actor spoke of his many conquests ad nauseam'. The word 'ad' means 'to' and the word 'nauseam' means 'sickness'. This phrase has been used in English since the 1600s.

From Quiz Common Foreign Words And Phrases 6

Answer: Patriotism

The Latin phrase 'amor patriae' means 'love of country' and 'patriotism'. It is used for those people who vigorously support their country and its way of life.

From Quiz Common Foreign Words And Phrases 5.

Answer: Note well

The Latin phrase 'nota bene' means 'note well', or 'take note'. The phrase is usually abbreviated and used to bring attention to something important. We use the abbreviations NB, N.B., nb or n.b. to signify these words.

From Quiz Common Foreign Words And Phrases 4

Answer: An admirer

'Aficionado' is the Spanish word for a 'devoted fan'. It is often used in the musical theatres or sporting areanas, to describe very enthusiastic fans.

From Quiz Common Foreign Words And Phrases 3.

Answer: For example

'Exempli gratia' is a Latin phrase meaning 'for the sake of example'. In English we use the abbreviation e.g. as an abbreviated form to mean 'for example'.

From Quiz Common Foreign Words And Phrases 2.

Answer: Our Father

Pater noster is a Latin phrase, which the Roman Catholic church uses for the 'Lord's Prayer'. Also known as the 'Our Father', it is a prayer used world wide by many Christian denominations.

From Quiz Common Foreign Words And Phrases

Answer: A coffee house

This describes a French cafe or restaurant where light meals, coffee, teas, juices etc. are served. Unlike a bistro, it would be expected to have professional waiters and printed menus. The word is also used to describe a brewery, which is the origin of its use to describe the type of eating establishment which brews its own beer (although that is not always the case in modern times).

From Quiz More Words of Indian Origin

Answer: Mango

The word 'mango' comes from the Portuguese word, 'manga', which by itself comes from the Tamil and Malayalam word, 'mankay' for the fruit. India is the world's largest producer and exporter of numerous kinds of mangoes, especially the luscious "Alphonso" variety, besides others of varying size, shape, colour and taste.

From Quiz Words of Indian Origin

Answer: juggernaut

The word, "juggernaut", meaning a massive, unstoppable force, comes from one of the names with Vishnu is worshipped, Jagannath, especially in the eastern city of Puri. Here, an annual chariot ceremony sees the idol of Jagannath being placed in a massive wooden chariot and dragged around the streets of the city by devotees. Some devotees used to throw themselves under this chariot, believing that death this way would help their souls attain eternal bliss in Vaikunta, Vishnu's abode. However, this practice is less popular now and the devotees are content with a piece of wood from the chariot after it is dismantled. (I must thank funtrivia player, vpatnaik, for providing me the correct information on the event which occurs in his home state.;))

From Quiz Arabic Words In English

Answer: saffron

Gives colour and flavour to your paella. Not to be confounded with 'safflower', the seeds of which are used for oil. Other Arab imports were the artichoke (al kharshuf); caraway (al karawya) and apricots (alburquq).

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