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Quiz about Goat Words
Quiz about Goat Words

Goat Words Trivia Quiz


A surprising number of English words and phrases are derived from words having to do with goats. How many do you know?

A multiple-choice quiz by crisw. Estimated time: 11 mins.
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Author
crisw
Time
11 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
62,797
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
20
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
11 / 20
Plays
1990
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 20
1. What zodiacal sign is associated with the goat? (A hint- the first 4 words of this quiz all share the same Latin root, so getting the first answer will help you with them!)

Answer: (One Word)
Question 2 of 20
2. This word, meaning to playfully leap and hop, was inspired by the playfulness of goat kids.

Answer: (One Word-5 letters)
Question 3 of 20
3. A move in dressage, the art of 'dancing with horses', is also named after the leap of a goat. In this move, the horse jumps upward without moving forward, kicking its back legs out as it leaps. What is this move called?

Answer: (One word- 8 letters)
Question 4 of 20
4. This word means 'impulsive and unpredictable.' Obviously, the Romans thought of the goat as a flighty and playful beast!

Answer: (One Word- 10 letters)
Question 5 of 20
5. Now we switch to some words with Greek roots. This word for a play with an unhappy ending or for a sad event comes from a Greek phrase meaning 'goat song.'

Answer: (One Word)
Question 6 of 20
6. This is a tough one! The name of this gum, used in cooking, pharmaceutical preparations, and printing, comes from a Greek phrase meaning 'goat thorn.'

Answer: (One Word-10 letters)
Question 7 of 20
7. Here is another toughie (but remember, these all share the same Latin root, so if you got 5, you have a clue!) Do you have hairy ears? What is the scientific name for an ear hair? It means 'goat' in Greek.

Answer: (One Word-6 letters)
Question 8 of 20
8. OK, enough of Greek and Latin. Let's try a couple words of French derivation. The first means, quite simply, 'goat cheese.'

Answer: (One Word-6 letters, no accent marks)
Question 9 of 20
9. Another French-derived word means a V-shaped pattern, commonly found on military badges. It's also the name of a large US chain of gas stations.

Answer: (One Word)
Question 10 of 20
10. Back to the Greeks. Who was the Greek god, known for his appetites for many things and his pipe-playing, who has the horns, ears and torso of a goat?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 11 of 20
11. The same goat-footed god inspired a word meaning 'sudden, overpowering terror or alarm.' What is that word?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 12 of 20
12. The next three words all describe materials made from goat hair. The first comes from a phrase of Arabic origin, 'mukhayyar', meaning 'a fabric made from the wool of a goat.'

Answer: (One Word-6 letters)
Question 13 of 20
13. The next type of fabric is a soft fabric made from the undercoat of a goat. This fabric is named after the area of India and Pakistan where the fabric was first made.

Answer: (One Word-8 letters)
Question 14 of 20
14. The last fabric is named after a region in Turkey. It is the softest and most luxurious of the goat hair fabrics.

Answer: (One Word- 6 letters)
Question 15 of 20
15. The Greeks made much use of goat symbolism, so we are back to them. This word, meaning 'protection', 'sponsorship' or 'direction', was derived from the name of Athena's shield.

Answer: (One Word- 5 letters)
Question 16 of 20
16. This term means 'someone who is punished for the wrongdoings of another,' and has Biblical origins.

Answer: (One Word-9 letters)
Question 17 of 20
17. 'Tragelaphus', meaning 'goat deer', is the name for a genus of what kind of animals? Hint


Question 18 of 20
18. What word is both a colloquialism for a female goat and a term for a child's caretaker?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 19 of 20
19. What word means both a baby human and a baby goat?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 20 of 20
20. Another toughie for the last one. A genus of pheasantlike birds with brilliant plumage and unusual courtship displays bears a name derived from both a Greek root meaning 'goat' and a Greek god. What is this genus?

Answer: (One Word-8 letters)

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What zodiacal sign is associated with the goat? (A hint- the first 4 words of this quiz all share the same Latin root, so getting the first answer will help you with them!)

Answer: Capricorn

Capricorn is the tenth sign of the zodiac, beginning at the Winter Solstice on or about Dec. 21 and lasting until Jan. 19th. The goat symbol for Capricorn is often shown with a fish tail. This may represent Pan, the Greek god most closely associated with goats, transforming into a sea creature.
2. This word, meaning to playfully leap and hop, was inspired by the playfulness of goat kids.

Answer: caper

'Caprus' is the Latin root for 'goat'.
3. A move in dressage, the art of 'dancing with horses', is also named after the leap of a goat. In this move, the horse jumps upward without moving forward, kicking its back legs out as it leaps. What is this move called?

Answer: capriole

You will see such moves in shows put on by the Lippizaner stallions of Vienna.
4. This word means 'impulsive and unpredictable.' Obviously, the Romans thought of the goat as a flighty and playful beast!

Answer: capricious

I can tell you from spending much time with goats that they certainly can be unpredictable creatures!
5. Now we switch to some words with Greek roots. This word for a play with an unhappy ending or for a sad event comes from a Greek phrase meaning 'goat song.'

Answer: tragedy

There are several theories for the derivation of this word. It may have been because goats were sacrificed as part of these plays. It may have been because goats were a prize for the best actors. And it may have been because the actors wore goatskins.
6. This is a tough one! The name of this gum, used in cooking, pharmaceutical preparations, and printing, comes from a Greek phrase meaning 'goat thorn.'

Answer: tragacanth

Gum tragacanth comes from a desert bush with very sharp thorns.
7. Here is another toughie (but remember, these all share the same Latin root, so if you got 5, you have a clue!) Do you have hairy ears? What is the scientific name for an ear hair? It means 'goat' in Greek.

Answer: tragus

I would think that beard hairs, not ear hairs, should be named after goats!
8. OK, enough of Greek and Latin. Let's try a couple words of French derivation. The first means, quite simply, 'goat cheese.'

Answer: chevre

People in the US have only recently discovered the joys of goat cheese. France has more dairy goats than any other European country, and almost all of their milk is used to make cheese.
9. Another French-derived word means a V-shaped pattern, commonly found on military badges. It's also the name of a large US chain of gas stations.

Answer: chevron

The derivation of this term was probably inspired by the horns of the goat.
10. Back to the Greeks. Who was the Greek god, known for his appetites for many things and his pipe-playing, who has the horns, ears and torso of a goat?

Answer: Pan

Pan was the beloved god of woods and fields. Like his goat friends, he enjoyed the company of females. His taste for wine was not shared by the goats!
11. The same goat-footed god inspired a word meaning 'sudden, overpowering terror or alarm.' What is that word?

Answer: panic

This may have derived from flocks of goats fleeing in terror at the sight of a predator.
12. The next three words all describe materials made from goat hair. The first comes from a phrase of Arabic origin, 'mukhayyar', meaning 'a fabric made from the wool of a goat.'

Answer: mohair

This fabric is often used to make fine stuffed toys as well.
13. The next type of fabric is a soft fabric made from the undercoat of a goat. This fabric is named after the area of India and Pakistan where the fabric was first made.

Answer: cashmere

Named after Kashmir, cashmere can be gathered from any breed of goat, although some breeds produce larger amounts of it.
14. The last fabric is named after a region in Turkey. It is the softest and most luxurious of the goat hair fabrics.

Answer: Angora

Named after Ankara, Turkey, angora is made from the wool of the Angora goat. A similar fabric is made from the fur of the Angora rabbit.
15. The Greeks made much use of goat symbolism, so we are back to them. This word, meaning 'protection', 'sponsorship' or 'direction', was derived from the name of Athena's shield.

Answer: aegis

The shield was made of goatskin, and 'aegis' is another Greek word for 'goat.'
16. This term means 'someone who is punished for the wrongdoings of another,' and has Biblical origins.

Answer: scapegoat

This term has an interesting origin. As reported at www.wordorigins.com, 'This term, for one who is punished for the misdeeds of others, is the result of a mistranslation. The term was coined in 1530 by William Tyndale, who misread the Hebrew word 'azazel, the proper name of Canaanite demon, as 'ez ozel, literally 'the goat that departs.' In Leviticus 16:8, the scriptures describe how two goats should be prepared for an offering, lots should be drawn, and one should be sacrificed to the Lord as a sin-offering, and the other given to Azazel and set free in the wilderness bearing the sins of the people. ' Another interpretation was sent to me by Quizzyland player yaarbiriah-"William Tyndale's translation coincides with older rabbinic interpretations related to the goat departing (aramaic), though other interpretations mention the Canaanite demon idea we should not think that the second goat was actually sacrificed to this demon per se as that would be idolatry. According to some interpretations the goat is sent into the desert with a man who will not last the year (probably very sick)- he has the job of driving the goat over a cliff.

The goat does not go free but dies in the wilderness. Ancient Judaism does believe in the existence of demonic entities but that these cannot have any power over us as long as we are doing what we should be doing. All agree that the goats, each in their own ways, atone for the sins of the people in that they represent our animal natures.. and should inspire recognition of the urgings of our animal natures, how they must be 'sacrificed' to the better judgement of our brains. Goats have always represented sacrifices for sins, 'cheta'im' literally meaning 'missing the mark' or 'missing the point' in modern English. The Hebrew word for goat is 'ez' which is etymologically similar to 'az' meaning 'bold', a trait which is often bad unless used purely for holy purposes. "
17. 'Tragelaphus', meaning 'goat deer', is the name for a genus of what kind of animals?

Answer: Antelopes

This genus consists of most of the larger African antelopes like kudus and elands.
18. What word is both a colloquialism for a female goat and a term for a child's caretaker?

Answer: nanny

'Nanny' is disliked by most goat breeders, because it engenders negative goat stereotypes. The preferred term for a female goat is 'doe.' 'Nanny' is thought to have derived from babies babbling 'nana.'
19. What word means both a baby human and a baby goat?

Answer: kid

The term as used for the goat is older, and is of Norse derivation.
20. Another toughie for the last one. A genus of pheasantlike birds with brilliant plumage and unusual courtship displays bears a name derived from both a Greek root meaning 'goat' and a Greek god. What is this genus?

Answer: Tragopan

From 'tragus' and 'Pan.' They probably received this name because the males bear horn-shaped wattles that they inflate during their displays.
Source: Author crisw

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LadyCaitriona before going online.
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