Zindabad Zingy Z-Words! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jupiter

Think of "geography", which is the mapping of the Earth, and substitute "geo-" with "zeno-", the combining form of Zeus, the Greek counterpart to the Roman god Jupiter (or so the Romans interpreted Zeus).

You may believe, therefore, that uranography or uranology refers to the study of the planet Uranus, but not so! 'Uranology' is an obsolete term for astronomy, and 'uranography' refers to the mapping the positions of "fixed stars", galaxies, and other celestial bodies, or it may refer to the study of historical celestial maps -- in other words, celestial cartography.

This is not so strange if you remember that Uranus the planet was not discovered until the time of George III (in 1781), whereas the mapping of the fixed stars is an ancient practice. "Uranus" is the Latinized form of Greek 'ouranós' meaning sky or heaven. and it was the name of the primordial sky-god who was the consort and brother of the earth-goddess Gaia and the father of Saturn/Kronos, who in turn was the father of Jupiter/Zeus, making a linear progression in the naming of the planets.

Answer: Zenobia

Queen Zenobia of Palmyra (c. 240 - c. 274), also known as Septimia Zenobia, ruled approximately from 268-272 C.E. She was the wife of King Septimius Odaenathus. Palmyra lay on the edge of the Persian Empire between Syria and Babylon, and protected the caravans on whose trade the kingdom depended. Zenobia rode with her husband as they expanded the territory of Palmyra through conquest. When Odaenathus and his heir Hairan were assassinated, Zenobia became regent for her younger son Vaballathus. Under her regency, she took Egypt from Rome, and acquired Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. When Aurelius's army met Zenobia's near Antioch, however, the warrior queen was at last defeated.

Zenobia appears in many stories and poems, including Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales'. In the modern era, she remains a national and patriotic symbol for Syria and has appeared on Syrian currency.

Zenobia's name literally means "the force of Zeus," for it comes from 'Zeno' (an alternate form of Zeus's name) and 'bia' ("strength, force"), a cognate of the Sanskrit 'jya', from whence the religion of Jainism derives its name.

Answer: Don Giovanni

Mozart wrote the music for 'Don Giovanni' K.527, an opera in two acts, mostly during the summer of 1787, after the success of his opera 'The Marriage of Figaro' the previous year. Lorenzo da Ponte wrote the libretto for 'Don Giovanni', as he had done for the triumphant 'Figaro', so Mozart was delighted to collaborate with him again. 'Don Giovanni' premiered at the National Theater of Bohemia (now the Estates Theater) in Prague (now the capital of the modern Czech Republic) in October 1787. Da Ponte would later produce the first U.S. performance of 'Don Giovanni' in New York City in 1826 (long after Mozart's demise).

Don Giovanni is a rake and a murderer based on the Spanish legends of the lecherous Don Juan, as recorded by Juan de la Cleva and Tirso de Molina. The character Zerlina is a maiden of Seville on whom the villain tries to force himself. In scene 3 of Act II, Zerlina threatens the Don's servant and accomplice Leporello with a razor and ties him to a chair, but this scene is usually omitted in modern performances. The full name of the opera is 'Il dissoluto punito, ossia Don Giovanni' ("The Libertine Punished, namely Don Giovanni"), which may give you some clue as to the ending.

Answer: zephyr

The word 'zephyr' appeared in the English language around the mid-14th century, from Old English 'Zefferus', from Latin 'Zephyrus' (whence come French zéphire, Spanish 'zefiro', and Italian 'zeffiro', to name a few). Ultimately the source is the Greek 'Zephyros' the personification of the West Wind, probably related to 'zophos' meaning "the west, the dark region, darkness, gloom." Not until the 17th century, however, did the English word come to mean simply a "mild breeze".

Zephyrus or Zephyros (sometimes in English merely Zephyr) was one of the four Aemoi (wind gods) of ancient Greece, the other three being Boreas (the north wind), Notus or Notos (the south), and Eurus or Euros (the east).

Answer: zeppelin

A zeppelin has a internal frame that keeps its shape even when devoid of gas (nowadays only helium, for the Hindenburg disaster of 1937 proved the dangers of hydrogen gas). If an airship (also called a dirigible) requires gas pressure to keep its shape, then it's a blimp.

Goodyear announced in 2011 that they were replacing their aging blimps with semi-rigid airships (which rely partially on a frame and partially on pressure for their shape) called Zeppelin NTs (for "new technology") made by the daughter company of the original German Zeppelin conglomerate for which zeppelins were named.

Answer: zirconia

The most popular diamond substitute is the 'cubic zirconia', the common name for synthetic cubic crystalline zirconium dioxide (ZrO2). It is usually colorless, but it can be made to have colors, as you have seen from the photograph. There is also just plain 'zirconia' which is crystalline ZrO2 but not cubic and is used in dentistry and insulation. 'Zircon' is a natural mineral also called zirconium silicate (ZrSiO4), while 'zirconga' is just a nonsense word.

There is no 'cubic zirconium', even though you may have seen the gemstone erroneously written that way. Zirconium is an element, specifically a transition metal, with the abbreviation Zr and an atomic number of 40, and as you see in the previous paragraph, it is a constituent element of both zirconia and zircon. Most of the Earth's zirconium is actually used not in jewellery but as an alloy in the tubing of nuclear power stations as the element will not absorb neutrons.

Answer: zoophily

Zoophily (zoh-AW-phuh-lee) means love of animals and concern for their rights and welfare. It comes from the Greek 'zṓion', meaning "animal" plus 'philia', meaning "fraternal love". A lover of animals, especially one who is concerned with the rights of lower animals and their protection from abuse is a 'zoophilist' or a 'zoophilite'. 'Zoophily' also refers to pollination whereby animals such as hummingbirds, bats, and rodents carry pollen between plants.

'Zoomania' is a psychopathological state in which the patient has excessive fondness for or preoccupation with animals; the afflicted is a zoomaniac. If it crosses the line into, er, romantic attraction, it's 'zoophilia' and the afflicted is a 'zoophile' -- not to be confused with 'zoophily' or "zoophilist"! Spelling is everything.

'Zoophobia' is a morbid fear or hatred of animals, and 'zoophagy' refers to the feeding of animals upon other animals (such as cats upon mice).

Answer: zelatrix

The male equivalent is 'zelator'. The term zelatrix or zelator was used in the Middle Ages to refer to the assistant of the novice mistress or novice master in a convent or monastery. This ecclesiastical sense has generally fallen into disuse. Nowadays zelatrix refers to a woman who is particularly zealous about a cause or belief, a partisan, and a zelator would be a male zealot, and it is generally pejorative. If you have a morbid fear of such 'zelatypic' persons or feelings, you might suffer from 'zelophobia'.

Answer: Zoroastrianism

Zoroatrianism was founded by the prophet Zarathrustra or Zoroaster. Adherents worship the god-creator Ahura Mazda (literally "Wise Lord"), who sustains the universe through a force called Asha. His main adversary is the Agra Mainyu, born of evil thought and will. Muslims might disparagingly call Zoroastrianism 'zendicism' and a Zoroastrian a 'zendik', meaning one who practices heretical magic, especially with fire, as fire is an important part of Zoroastrian ritual worship. Zoroastrians prefer to call their religion Mazdayansa (literally "worship of Mazda"). Before Islam, Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion of Persia.

Zen Buddhism is a mixture of Taoism and Indian Buddhism that arose in China and spread to Japan. 'Zoolatry' means the worship of animals, especially in primitive belief systems, as incarnations of deities. It can also refer to cults such as that of the bear associated with Artemis.

Answer: sea anemones

Sea anemones (pictured), along with corals, sea pens, and sea fans are all zoöphytes, specifically anthozoans (from Greek 'anthos', meaning "flower") Colorful sea anemones in particular resemble flowers whose "petals" are tentacles; therefore they were named after terrestrial anemones, brightly colored flowers in the buttercup family. Sponges, which appear to grow like plants and feed by filtering plankton, are also zoöphytes (but they do not appear in the lithograph).

The term, which can also be spelled in English without the diaresis (¨), is not really used in science anymore as it is imprecise; the first edition of the OED described even starfishes as zoöphytes. The order Zoophyta is now defunct and its members scattered among assorted orders.

Box jellyfish are fast swimmers with deadly venom, although in a later stage of their life they become a polyp attached to the seabed, and so may resemble plants at that point.