Did I Spell That Right? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Absence

With its origins in the Latin "absentia", the word "absence" is a late 14th century Old French word, meaning "be away from".

Absence means the state of not being present, and is commonly misspelled. It can also refer to the mind being elsewhere too. We've all heard of absent-minded professors. The term "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" is a line from an early 19th century song by Thomas Bayly.

Answer: Buoys

The most likely origin of the word is from the Middle Dutch 'boeie' or Old French "boie", which, rather than meaning 'to float" actually refers to its being fettered to a spot.

People often get this word wrong, perhaps because "ou" is much more usual in English than "uo". Navigation buoys can be found in the entrances to most harbours, usually coloured red (for port) or green (for starboard), helping sailors to navigate without running aground or hitting sunken hazards.

You can describe a happy, outgoing personality as being buoyant, too.

Answer: Concede

The word comes to us directly from the Latin "concedere", meaning to give way or depart.

Sometimes it's not easy admitting you're wrong, but it's usually best to concede the point. Besides, it's easier then to take the moral high ground when you know he's wrong, and won't concede the fact that this time you're right!

Answer: Grateful

This word has evolved from the Latin "gratus" (pleasing) to the English "grate"(pleasant). It has been described as "a rare, irregular case of English using -ful to make an adjective from an adjective".

I was extremely grateful, especially since I had my passport in my bag. It's a good feeling knowing that there are kind, honest people all around. As I get older I feel grateful to wake up each day!

Answer: Harassed

"Harass" is a word probably originating with the Old French word "harer", which became "harasser", (16th century France) meaning to tire out or vex.

My nephew harassed me so much that I took him down to the park, bought him a large ice cream, and let him feed the birds with a packet of bread. Harassment can also be a serious crime, and victims can feel quite terrorised by it.

Answer: Inoculation

Coming from the Latin "inoculationem", meaning an "engrafting, budding", the word "inoculation" came into use in horticulture in the mid 15th century, and was used in 1714 in pathology when first mentioned in conjunction with 'variolation', an early form of smallpox immunisation.

Inoculation simply describes introducing something into another entity, and can also apply to introducing a disease into an organism, which sometimes happens in laboratory tests.

Answer: Personnel

Originating between 1825-1835, this word comes to us from the Old French "personel" which became "personnel", also in France.

The word 'personnel' describes the members of any organisation, including a business or corporation. It also is used to denote a member of the armed forces, and always refers to people, rather than animals or inanimate objects. (though my friend Pete might fall into the latter category) ;)

Answer: Questionnaire

From the late 1800s, this is another French word meaning "list of formal questions", developing from "questionner", meaning "to question".

Those annoying questionnaires seem to be always there, whether in the paper form, or more frequently, online. It seems I have to fill one in for the simplest thing nowadays.

Answer: Occurrence

Coming originally from the Latin nominative "occurens", to "occurentum", the word "occurrence" is a Middle French word dating from the 1530s.

We might find that graffiti is a common, everyday occurrence in our neighbourhood. Occurrence is one of those tricky words that never looks quite right, even when we spell it correctly.

Answer: Vacuum

The word is a loan-translation of the Greek word "kenon", meaning "that which is empty", which became the Latin "vacuum". It has been used in English since the 1650s.

A vacuum is a complete absence of air and matter. The typical household vacuum cleaner only needs to reduce air pressure by about 20% in order to be able to suck in dirt and other debris.

Laboratory experiments have been able to get close to creating a perfect vacuum, but as of 2018, it has not been achieved. This gives me some respect for Black Holes in outer space.