Put Them Together They Spell........ Quiz

Answer: tomorrow

A male turkey is a TOM; the conjunction OR is used to indicate alternatives in a list; a ROW is a number of items arrayed in a linear fashion.

The word TOMORROW was originally written as two words, to morrow, before becoming hyphenated in the 16th century, and written as a single word in the 20th century. The word morrow comes from the Old English 'morgen', meaning morning. So tomorrow originally meant something like 'in the morning'.

Answer: abandon

The first letter of the English alphabet is A. To prohibit something is to BAN it. In both Portugal and Spain, DON is a form of address indicating respect (coming from the Latin 'dominus', meaning master). Because it conveys a sense that the person is of importance or high standing, the term came to be used to describe a number of positions in a university.

To ABANDON something means to leave it behind and, by implication, unprotected. It can also be used reflexively to mean allowing oneself to engage in an activity without control or inhibition. The word first appeared in the 14th century, from the Old French word 'abandonner', meaning surrender or permit (and reflexively to devote oneself to something). That in turn came from the phrase 'à bandon', meaning at will. 'Bandon' in turn came from the Latin word 'bannum', a proclamation.

Answer: candidate

In the United Kingdom, a metal container in which foods are preserved is called a tin; in the United States it is called a CAN. (See below for an unrelated anecdote.) If someone has carried out an activity, they DID it. And if they then consumed something (maybe from a can?) they ATE it.

A CANDIDATE is someone who is seeking election or appointment, or who has been proposed to be approved for an appointment. The word has its origins in the Latin word 'candidatus', meaning white-robed. It referred to the especially white toga (perhaps whitened with chalk to make it shine white) worn by Romans who were seeking office, to indicate the purity of their hearts.

An example of a joke that does not transfer across the Atlantic, which I recall being told in my childhood:
The English tourist was very impressed with the size of the harvest on a farm he visited, and said so to the farmer. The farmer replied, "We eat what we can, and what we can't we can." On his return home, the tourist attempted to regal his friends with this joke, but just got confused looks when he delivered the punchline, "We eat what we can, and what we can't we tin."

Answer: downtrodden

The opposite of up is DOWN; if you placed your foot firmly on something you TROD on it; many animals live in a lair that is called a DEN.

The word DOWNTRODDEN is somewhat tautological, as something rather has to be down before it can be trodden on. In the 12th century the term was used to describe to losers in a battle; in the late 16th century it came to be applied more figuratively to people who are oppressed or persecuted.

Answer: foreknowledge

Something at the front can be said to be in the FORE; to realize or understand a concept is to KNOW it; a LEDGE is a shelf or projection, usually horizontal, from a larger structure.

As the constituent pieces of the word suggest, foreknowledge is awareness of something before it occurs. (In the stock market, it is called insider trading if you take advantage of foreknowledge, and is illegal.) The fore- part of the word is a common prefix in Old English to indicate that something is of a higher rank (as in forefront) or an earlier time. Knowledge has a more obscure derivation. The verb know, meaning understand, comes from Germanic roots, and was originally pronounced with a hard k sound at the start. The origin of the -ledge portion that turns it into a noun is not clear.

Answer: hallowed

A corridor can also be called a HALL (although that word can also refer to a large room in which people assemble). An overdue payment is something that is OWED.

A HALLOWED place or person is one that has been blessed, usually in an official ceremony. The Old English 'halgian' was a verb meaning to make or acknowledge as holy. The noun hallow, meaning a saint or holy person, is obsolete, but can still be seen in the celebration of Halloween or Hallowe'en. Just as Christmas Eve is the night before Christmas, All Hallows Eve (or Hallow Even) is the night before the Feast of All Saints, celebrated on 1 November in churches of the Western rite.

Answer: legislate

While a limb might also be an arm, that doesn't fit into the big word, which can start with LEG. If something exists, it IS in existence. A euphemism for someone who is deceased is to refer to them as the LATE So-and-so.

The body of people who LEGISLATE has various names in different places. In many countries there are two bodies involved in the legislative process, each with different, defined roles in the process. Some legislatures only have a single body of legislators, and are said to be unicameral. The word legislate comes from the Latin 'lex, legis', a noun meaning a law. The second halves of these various related words come from various Latin words meaning to propose, one who proposes, etc.

Answer: indignation

To be amidst something is to be IN the middle of it. Delve is an archaic term meaning to DIG the soil. It is not in current use, but you may have heard the old quotation from a sermon delivered by John Ball during the Peasants' Rebellion of 1813: "When Adam delved and Eve span / Who then was the gentleman?" This was a reminder that human society started with everyone working, and not with a leisure class supported by the work of others. Another word for a country is a NATION.

INDIGNATION is a state of anger, but possibly less severe than the level that would be described by outrage. The word is pretty much straight from its Latin origin, 'indignatio', with the same meaning. That word, in turn is the past participle of the verb 'indignare', meaning to regard as unworthy, or to be angry at.

Answer: stubbornness

A remnant of something could be called a stump, a tag end, or a STUB. The French word née (the feminine form of the word meaning BORN) has entered English in regular use to indicate that a woman has changed her name. Traditionally this was by marriage, taking on her husband's surname, but it can also apply a performer or writer who adopts a professional name. The male equivalent is né. The Scots word for a cape or headland is NESS, a word derived from a Germanic word for a nose.

STUBBORNNESS is the property of refusing to change one's opinion or proposed actions, no matter what convincing arguments are offered. The word stubborn was first used in English as 'stiborn' or 'stoborne' in the late 14th century. Where it came from is anyone's guess.

Answer: nevertheless

A single word meaning at no time is NEVER; THE is the definite article in English (with a and an being called indefinite articles); fewer and LESS both describe a smaller amount when compared to something else.

NEVERTHELESS is an adverb meaning all the same, in spite of that, or (if you want an even longer word) notwithstanding. It is a word that is not all that common in everyday use, but is nevertheless useful in some sentences.