FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about NonIndoEuropean Words in English
Quiz about NonIndoEuropean Words in English

Non-Indo-European Words in English Quiz


Trivia fiends like me know all the German and Latin roots in American English, but what about those non-Indo-European loan words we use? I'll give you two or three words and you tell me in what language they originated.

A multiple-choice quiz by shvdotr. Estimated time: 4 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Humanities Trivia
  6. »
  7. English
  8. »
  9. Etymology

Author
shvdotr
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
320,862
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
859
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. What language gives us coach, goulash, and paprika? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Here's an easy one. From where do we get sushi, karate, and geisha? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Sometimes pinning down a single language is difficult for certain words. Just identify the group of languages from which we get skunk, chipmunk, woodchuck, pecan, and Eskimo. Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. From what language do we get silk, tea, catsup, and tycoon? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. If you know where to look to find a lama, yeti, or yak, you would probably know what language these words come from. What do you think? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. You may know where we originally got the tomato, chocolate, avocado, and chili, but do you know the name of the language originally spoken there? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Here's another head-scratcher if you don't know the name of the language spoken in the place where quinine, condor, and coca originated. Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Here's an interesting language. From it we get bizarre and jai alai. If you know what ethnic group gives us the game of jai alai, you know their language, perhaps Europe's oldest. Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. How about some more familiar words? From what language do we get almanac, admiral, mattress, alcohol, orange, and assassin? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. How about one more exotic one? From what language do we get the words sarong, bamboo, and gingham? Hint



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What language gives us coach, goulash, and paprika?

Answer: Hungarian

We know that goulash and paprika are Hungarian foods. Coach passes through German and French from the original Hungarian Kocs, a town in northwest Hungary where a certain type of carriage was made.
2. Here's an easy one. From where do we get sushi, karate, and geisha?

Answer: Japanese

Also from Japanese come samurai, haiku, kimono, and lots of others.
3. Sometimes pinning down a single language is difficult for certain words. Just identify the group of languages from which we get skunk, chipmunk, woodchuck, pecan, and Eskimo.

Answer: Algonquian

Algonquian languages would include several Native American tongues, such as Cree, Micmac, Ojibway, Massachusett, and Illinois. Ironically, the word "Eskimo" does not come to us from an Inuit language. But this is very common among names for Native American tribes.

A large majority of the terms we use for various peoples come into English from other tribes, often even including traditional enemies.
4. From what language do we get silk, tea, catsup, and tycoon?

Answer: Chinese

Silk is an example of a word which a dictionary would show coming to English through other Indo-European languages, like Old English sioloc, and going back to the Greek serikon, or, as another dictionary says, back to the Old Slavic shelku. But where do you suppose the Greeks or Old Slavs got the word for this material? I'm thinking from where the material originated.

But my original source said it came originally from the Chinese, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
5. If you know where to look to find a lama, yeti, or yak, you would probably know what language these words come from. What do you think?

Answer: Tibetan

The yeti may be harder to find than a yak or a lama. The yeti is, of course, also known as the abominable snowman.
6. You may know where we originally got the tomato, chocolate, avocado, and chili, but do you know the name of the language originally spoken there?

Answer: Nahuatl

Yes, the Aztecs spoke Nahuatl. Quechua is the language of the Inca Empire of South America. Tungus is a language spoken in northern Asia.
7. Here's another head-scratcher if you don't know the name of the language spoken in the place where quinine, condor, and coca originated.

Answer: Quechua

"Inca," by the way, is the name of the ruler of the Andean Empire, not the people, really, who are the Quechuas. Their empire, like all empires, contained several peoples. The Inca also ruled Chancas, Chimorans, and Machupa tribes.
8. Here's an interesting language. From it we get bizarre and jai alai. If you know what ethnic group gives us the game of jai alai, you know their language, perhaps Europe's oldest.

Answer: Basque

Basques, who call themselves Euskara, originated in northwestern Spain and southwestern France. The language is classified as a language isolate, meaning it has no related languages. My dictionary says bizarre is from the Basque "bizar," meaning beard. Actually, Romani, the language of the so-called Gypsies, is an Indo-Aryan, or Indo-European language.
9. How about some more familiar words? From what language do we get almanac, admiral, mattress, alcohol, orange, and assassin?

Answer: Arabic

Many words that begin with "al" come from Arabic, such as alcove, alchemy, and algebra, thanks to the influence Arabic culture had on medieval Europe. Interestingly, "assassin" comes to us from the Arabic word "hashish."
10. How about one more exotic one? From what language do we get the words sarong, bamboo, and gingham?

Answer: Malay

Modern Malaysian culture is strongly influenced by many others, including Chinese, Indian, Persian, Arab, and European. Thankfully, the Malay language has also give us such colorful and useful words. Another Malay word is orangutan.
Source: Author shvdotr

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LadyCaitriona before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
10/31/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us