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Quiz about As Shakespeare Might Have Said

As Shakespeare Might Have Said... Quiz

Many of the words that were commonly used in Shakespeare's time have become what etymologists call archaisms or antique words. How many of these antique words can you identify correctly?

A multiple-choice quiz by Cymruambyth. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
Cymruambyth

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
216,948

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
2039

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What would Shakespeare have understood "bale" to mean? Hint

a bundle of hay

evil

a parcel of wool

jealousy

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Question 2 of 10

2. What would the Bard tell you that "benison" means? Hint

well-cooked meat

a prayer

a blessing

a prayer desk

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Question 3 of 10

3. I don't know if Shakespeare ever used the word, but what would he have understood "bewray" to mean? Hint

a word of caution

dressing up

betray

bemoan one's fate

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which of these character traits would lead Shakespeare to refer to someone as "doughty"? Hint

health

suffering from gout

bravery

self-righteousness

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Question 5 of 10

5. What would Shakespeare have understood "maugre" to mean? Hint

a stray cat

feeling nauseated

despite

sea sickness

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Question 6 of 10

6. If Shakespeare used the word "foison", to what would he be referring? Hint

fashion

a woman's headdress

poverty

abundance

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Question 7 of 10

7. In Shakespeare's day, what did "monstrous" mean? Hint

ugly

gargantuan

exceedingly

gorgon-like

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Question 8 of 10

8. When Shakespeare said "I wis", what was he saying? Hint

"I hope"

"I wish"

"I know"

"I hear"

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Question 9 of 10

9. What would Shakespeare have understood "Paynim" to mean? Hint

a Chinese prince

a native of Padua

an elf

a Muslim

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Question 10 of 10

10. Shakespeare was a country boy and he knew a "wain" when he saw one. What is a wain? Hint

a wagon

a haystack

a farmer

a scythe

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What would Shakespeare have understood "bale" to mean?

Answer: evil

Bale is descended from the Old English word balu, which meant evil. We've probably all been on the receiving end of a baleful stare at one time or another.

2. What would the Bard tell you that "benison" means?

Answer: a blessing

Benison has the same Latin root as benediction (another word for a blessing) - benedictionem. In one of his poems, Rupert Brooke (one of my favourite poets) lists the ordinary, everyday things that make life a joy, and one of these is "the benison of hot water". I presume he was writing in the bath.

3. I don't know if Shakespeare ever used the word, but what would he have understood "bewray" to mean?

Answer: betray

Bewray comes from Old English wregan, which meant accuse. How it ever got to mean betray is just one of those lovely etymological mysteries that can keep us going for hours!

4. Which of these character traits would lead Shakespeare to refer to someone as "doughty"?

Answer: bravery

Doughty derives from Old English dohte, meaning to be worthy or strong.

5. What would Shakespeare have understood "maugre" to mean?

Answer: despite

The Old French word maugre, meaning despite or notwithstanding, is a corruption of malgre, which means bad pleasure. Why that, in turn, means despite or notwithstanding is beyond me.

6. If Shakespeare used the word "foison", to what would he be referring?

Answer: abundance

From the Latin fusionem, meaning outpouring. It's interesting to note that our word fusion has the same source, which is why we can also talk about profusion when we're talking about abundance.

7. In Shakespeare's day, what did "monstrous" mean?

Answer: exceedingly

It wasn't unusual for Elizabethans to refer to someone as a monstrous beauty - which meant that the woman in question was a total knock-out. From the Latin monstrum: something marvellous or prodigious. Gargantuan, by the way, derives from Gargantua, the large-mouthed voracious giant created by Francois Rabelais.

8. When Shakespeare said "I wis", what was he saying?

Answer: "I know"

According to my source ("The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology"), I wis is a corruption of the Middle English word iwis or ywis, which means certainly, indeed.

9. What would Shakespeare have understood "Paynim" to mean?

Answer: a Muslim

Since Shakespeare lived in an ostensibly Christian society, anyone who wasn't Christian was automatically thought of as a heathen. Therefore, a follower of Islam would have be considered a pagan, a corruption of the Latin paganus, which means rustic, peasant. Eventually, Paynim came to mean exclusively a Muslim.

The connection between pagan and religion came by way of those who converted to Christianity and considered all non-Christians uncivilized. It's a bit like the terms 'City-slicker' applied by country-dwellers to urbanites, and 'hayseed' or 'rube' used by city slickers to describe rural people.

10. Shakespeare was a country boy and he knew a "wain" when he saw one. What is a wain?

Answer: a wagon

A wain is a wagon, or a large open vehicle, commonly used on farms. The earliest root is Sanskrit vahanam, meaning chariot or ship.

Source: Author Cymruambyth

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