Geographical Eponyms Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sardinia

When name-giving happens the other way round, fishes being named after a particular place, it's usually in the first place a marketing technique: Dover sole, Galway oysters...

Answer: Cyprus

Copper ... Cyprus is also the island with which Aphrodite has a special link. After being born from the foam of the sea she stepped ashore on Cyprus.

Answer: Sweden

"La Suède" is the French name for Sweden. English suede derives from that name.

Spain may be a producer of top quality leather goods and the archaic words cordwain and cordwainer may clearly refer to Cordoba in Spain, but no English common noun was derived from the name Spain itself. By the way, the French "cordonnier" also refers to Cordoba.

Italy is a great name in the shoe-business, but no common noun was derived from the word Italy.

A French example of a geographic eponym describing a specific quality of leather is "maroquinerie" for Maroccon leather goods.

Answer: Tangiers

Tangerines from Tangier. But no link between Oran and oranges. Clementines are a variety of tangerine, a cross between a sweet orange and a Chinese mandarin.

Answer: Egypt

Ireland, of course, has its travelling people or tinkers, the Sahara has its Tuaregs, but in Western Europe the swarthy people that speak their own Romany language were nicknamed 'Egyptians', which eroded to 'gypsies'. Romany, the name for their language, of course causes some confusion. People incorrectly link Romany with countries such as Romania where they are well-represented. Romany, however, does not derive from Rome or Roman as the name Romania does. Rather, it is to be linked with the gypsy word "Rom" which means man.

Answer: Sienna

It's the colour of the earth in that part of Tuscany. The name of the town is spelled Siena.

Answer: Corinth

Raisin is related to a Latin word 'raceme' for cluster. Retsina has no links with raisin and is not a town either. It's Greek for resin. Naousa is a wine growing area (Boutari, Tsantali, etc). Currants are what Corinth is linked with.

Answer: Genoa

Jeans from Genoa and denim from Nimes in France. (de Nimes = from Nimes)

Answer: Pistoia

The first spelling of Pistoia was Pistola. The adjective was Pistolese. And oddly enough the name for a pistol derives from the word for a 'Pistolese style of a dagger'. The pistol was to the gun what the dagger had been to the sword: an abridged version.

Answer: Bourbon

Answer: Venice

Venetian window blinds. (But ...'French windows').

Answer: Gaza

Bedlam derives from Bethlehem. The name of the Hospital of St. Mary of Betlehem in London got shortened to Bedlam. Bedlam became a term for "hospital for lunatics", and still later came to mean "scene of uproar". Gauze from Gaza in Palestine.

Answer: Florence

The lily is the symbol of Florence. Their coins represented such a flower and got nicknamed 'fiorini' from 'florini'. Other nations took over the style of that currency. England had its florin and Holland officially abbreviated the name of the guilder as fl. from 'florijn' - well, until the Euro arrived...

Answer: True

Maverick : 1. unbranded calf or other young animal 2. person of unorthodox independence, one who dissents from the ideas and beliefs of an organized political or other group to which he belongs.

Samuel Maverick was the original rebel whose cattle remained unbranded. Maverick's cattle turned into mavericks as a generic term.

Answer: Cardigan

Also the Balaclava cap is related to the Crimean war. Soldiers had to protect themselves from the cold climate. Lord Cardigan (1797-1868) wore his knitted jacket and the soldiers their balaclavas at the Battle of ...Balaclava (1854).