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(Ety)Mological Miscellany Trivia Quiz

Words fascinate me so I thought I'd share another 10 with you. Do you know the meanings of the words in this quiz? All definitions are taken from Chambers Dictionary published in the UK in 1995

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

Author
Mink

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
191,155

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
1974

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Well! Someone told me I am a plantigrade! Is he insulting me? Which is the correct meaning of the word? Hint

I walk on the soles of my feet

I work in a nursery and pick the best plants to sell

I look like a plant

I come from the town of Plantigralia

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Question 2 of 10

2. Do you know what a compurgator is? Hint

An old type of calculator

A witness who testifies to the innocence of the accused person

A type of medicine used to cleanse the body

A means of disposing of garden rubbish

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Question 3 of 10

3. I have been asked to deliver a panegyric. Where would I be most likely to do this? Hint

To the circus

To somebody's house

At a funeral

To the zoo

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Question 4 of 10

4. The next word is peregrination. I rather like this one but when could I use it? What does it mean? Hint

A place where peregrines were kept in Mediaeval times

Travelling around

A word to describe a rather fixed smile

A type of mead made by monks

5. Now then, my next word, concatenation, looks interesting. I'd like to slip it into conversation but first of all I'd better know what I'm talking about! Which of the following describes its meaning? Hint

A type of concrete made by the Romans

A yearly gathering of far flung tribes

A dreadful noise

A series of things depending on each other

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Question 6 of 10

6. I am interested in the science of koniology - so what would I be studying? Hint

Geometric shapes

Dust in the air

Reproduction of pine trees

Behaviour of guinea pigs

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Question 7 of 10

7. Oh goodness, someone has just asked me if I've seen his stengah - he's lost it. I don't think I have seen it but what am I looking for? Hint

A drink

A type of bullwhip

A type of antelope

A type of insect related to the scorpion

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Question 8 of 10

8. I've just spotted some gonfalons. But should I be afraid, reaching for my binoculars, avoiding them or merely admiring the colours? What IS a gonfalon? Hint

A mythical beast

An idiot

A bird of prey

A type of flag with streamers

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Question 9 of 10

9. My new boyfriend has just told me he is a spelunker...I don't know whether to phone the police or not, it sounds a bit suspect! So, just what does he do? Hint

Dives on shipwrecks

Picks pockets

Explores caves

Practises woodcrafts

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Question 10 of 10

10. Well, my boyfriend realised he had me worried and so now he's trying to curry favour with me. He's given me a wristwatch that has been gemmated. I'm really pleased - but should I be? What does gemmated mean? Hint

It's stolen

It's an expensive brand of watch

Jewel-encrusted

It is an antique and comes from the town of Gemmaria

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Well! Someone told me I am a plantigrade! Is he insulting me? Which is the correct meaning of the word?

Answer: I walk on the soles of my feet

Plantigrade can be an adjective and mean walking fully on the soles of the feet or it can be used as a noun to describe an animal that does this, thus humans are plantigrade. It comes from Latin from plantar (relating to the feet) and gradus (walking). So, no, I wasn't being insulted at all!

2. Do you know what a compurgator is?

Answer: A witness who testifies to the innocence of the accused person

This apparently comes from the word compurgation which was part of old English law and involved the clearing of an accused person by the evidence of a number of witnesses swearing to his or her innocence.

3. I have been asked to deliver a panegyric. Where would I be most likely to do this?

Answer: At a funeral

A panegyric is a eulogy - that is a speech which celebrates a person or event. So I might talk in very warm terms of someone's life achievements. It comes from the Greek panegyrikos, meaning all and assembly.

4. The next word is peregrination. I rather like this one but when could I use it? What does it mean?

Answer: Travelling around

This comes from the Latin word for foreigner, which itself derives from peregre, meaning abroad. Apparently the peregrine falcon is so named because of its habit of capturing its prey in flight.

Answer: A series of things depending on each other

It means a series of links united or things depending on each other - from the Latin con (and) and catena (chain). There really WAS a type of Roman concrete which set underwater and was made from pumice, gravel and volcanic ash. However, it wasn't called concatenation and doesn't seem to have had a particular name although the ingredients for it do!

6. I am interested in the science of koniology - so what would I be studying?

Answer: Dust in the air

This comes from Greek - konis (dust)and means the study of dust and its effects in the air. It is important to know how dust will behave in many industries as dust may be produced as part of a manufacturing process and could interfere with machinery or even start a fire.

7. Oh goodness, someone has just asked me if I've seen his stengah - he's lost it. I don't think I have seen it but what am I looking for?

Answer: A drink

Oh, I'm in my element now - it's a drink! The word comes from the Malay language and means one half - the drink is simply one half whisky and one half soda! The British colonials would have sipped a stengah on the verandah.

8. I've just spotted some gonfalons. But should I be afraid, reaching for my binoculars, avoiding them or merely admiring the colours? What IS a gonfalon?

Answer: A type of flag with streamers

A gonfalon is a type of ensign or flag with long streamers, usually hung horizontally. The derivation seems to be from a number of sources, including Italian, old German, Old French and Old English - for example, the old English word is guthfana (flag). I spotted some of these recently outside one of the local pubs - advertising cheap beer and live football!

9. My new boyfriend has just told me he is a spelunker...I don't know whether to phone the police or not, it sounds a bit suspect! So, just what does he do?

Answer: Explores caves

This comes from Latin (spelunc) AND Greek (spelynx) words for cave. I have always rather liked this word - I'm not sure the hobby is for me though, narrow passges, cold, wet, dark, underground...no, I think I'll stick to above ground activities.

Answer: Jewel-encrusted

Gemmated means simply encrusted or decked with gems or jewels. It's from the Latin "gemma" meaning bud, presumably because gems are sort of bud-shaped. The term is more commonly used in the scientific sense of describing an organism that reproduces by means of buds.

Source: Author Mink

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