How's Your Vocabulary? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Quiescence

"Quiescence" is derived from the Latin root "quiescere", meaning "to rest".

Lassitude means fatigue or lethargy. A gregarious person is one who is fond of the company of other people, while insipid means tasteless or lacking in flavour.

Answer: Paisley

"Paisley" cloth is named after the town of that name in Scotland where it was first manufactured.

Plaid is a fabric with a tartan pattern, while gingham is a cotton cloth usually with a checked pattern. Houndstooth is also a checked pattern often seen in woollen tweed clothing.

Answer: Rebarbative

Rebarbative has its origin in the Old French "se rebarber", implying an aggressive "beard to beard" confrontation.

Assiduous means diligent, bounteous means generous, and a merchant is someone who sells and buys goods.

Answer: Stench

"Stench" is derived from the Old English "stenc", meaning a smell (not necessarily unpleasant).

Veracious means truthful, while pallid means pale. Livid originally meant a bluish colour like that of a bruise but is now more often used colloquially to mean very angry.

Answer: Pandiculation

"Pandiculation" is derived from the Latin "pendere", meaning to stretch.

Palpitation is throbbing or trembling, while exasperation means a state of frustration. Externalisation is the act of giving external form to something.

Answer: Rechauffe

"Rechauffe" is from the French "réchauffer", meaning to reheat.

A picnic is any meal eaten outside. Lunch is a meal normally eaten at around the middle of the day, while dinner is usually taken in the evening.

Answer: Crass

"Crass" has its origins in the Latin "crassus", which means solid or dense, and began to mean "coarsely stupid" in the seventeenth century.

Insidious means cunning or crafty, while sinister means malignant or evil-looking. Meaningful means significant or important.

Answer: Paroxysm

The word "paroxysm" has come to English via French and has its origins in the Latin "paroxynein", meaning to provoke or stimulate.

A passacaglia is a musical piece consisting of variations played over a bass line. A flitch is a side of cured and salted pork, while syllabub is a dessert of thickened cream or milk.

Answer: Reliquary

A relic is either a part of the physical remains of a saint or other religious figure, or an object associated with them. If you had a spare relic lying around the house, you could, I suppose, put it in a crate, box or cupboard, but the proper place for it would be a reliquary.

Answer: Raconteur

"Raconteur" traces its roots back to the Old French "raconteur", which means "to tell".

An apothecary is an old word for someone who dispenses drugs, while a mendicant is a beggar. A manifesto is a statement of policy, for example by a political party.

Answer: Parley

"Parley" comes from the French term "pourparler", which is derived from the verb "parler", to speak.

A retinue is a group of people attending on a famous or important people. A convoy is a line of vehicles such as ships or lorries travelling together. Jargon is words or language used by a particular group that is not generally understood by outsiders.

Answer: Kudos

"Kudos" is derived from an Ancient Greek word meaning fame or glory.

To put the kibosh on something means to put a stop to it. Kohlrabi is a vegetable of the cabbage family, while a kinkajou is a South American mammal.

Answer: Expletive

An expletive is the sort of rude word that is often represented in print by random symbols such as "%@*£!"

An exclamation is any word uttered in anger of surprise. A euphemism is a mild word or expression used in place of a harsh or blunt one. An incantation is a spell or charm, usually spoken out loud.

Answer: Labret

A labret gets its name because it is inserted in the "labrum" (the Latin word for lip).

The other options are all related to different parts of the body that can have items inserted. A septum piercing is in the nose, while a tragus is in a particular part of the ear. Piercings in the navel are also popular.

Answer: Scrinium

The correct term for the cylindrical container used in Roman times to hold rolls of papyrus is a "scrinium". The incorrect options are all other containers of some sort.