Exploring Buenos Aires! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Spanish

"Buenos Aires" is a name that comes from the Spanish language. "Buenos" means good, nice and "Aires" means atmosphere, breeze, wind. "Buenos Aires" can be translated as "good airs" or "fair winds".

Many mistakenly believe that the name of the Argentine capital was given due to the good quality of the air in the place where the city was founded. In reality the name was suggested, in 1536, by the founding squad's chaplain, devotee of the Virgin of Buen Ayre, after the Madonna of Bonaria from Sardinia, the protector of navigators and who is still considered the protector of the Mediterranean islands to this day. The original name was Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María del Buen Aire. The short name became common during the 17th Century.

Answer: Goodwill

Eunoia is a word that comes from Ancient Greek, from "eû" (well, good) and "nodeos" (mind, spirit) and means goodwill, well-mindedness. In rhetoric "eunoia" means empathy, receptivity between the speaker and the audience. In medicine, the term, less used, means a normal state of mental health. Aristotle used "eunoia" to refer to the feeling of goodwill which forms the basis of relationships. Cicero translated the word into Latin as "benevolence".

Eunoia is the shortest English word containing all five vowels.

Answer: Baroness

Baroness is an eight-letter word, with five consonants, three vowels and three syllables, which refers to a rank of nobility or a title of honor.

The word baron comes from Old French baron, from Late Latin barō, that means man. The word baroness is found in the early 15th century, from Old French "barnesse" which translates to "lady of quality, noblewoman"; it is interesting to note that the word can also refer to "woman of low morals, slut".

In 1992, Margaret Thatcher, after withdrawing from the House of Commons, received a life peerage as Baroness Thatcher, which allowed her to sit in the House of Lords.

Answer: Neurosis

The words baseline, absenter and baronet contain some letters that do not appear in Buenos Aires. Neurosis, whose plural is neuroses, is a word that was coined by the Scottish Doctor William Cullen, in 1769, to describe various nervous disorders and symptoms which could not be explained physiologically; it expresses a low ability to adapt to changing situations and environment. The meaning of the word was redefined by Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud over time.

The word neurosis is derived from the Greek word neuron (nerve) and the suffix -osis (diseased or abnormal condition).

Answer: Wear it

Sari is a type of women's garment from southern Asia, especially in the Indian subcontinent, which consists of an unstitched drape of fabric, usually a soft one, usually 15 to 30 feet in length and 24 to 47 inches in breadth, which is wrapped around the body, so that one end forms the skirt and the other a shoulder or head cover.

The word sārī is derived from śātikā of Sanskrit origin and is earliest mentioned in Hindu literature during the 6th Century BCE.

Answer: A type of fish

A searobin, sea robin or gurnard, is one type of fish in the Trigliadae family that lives on the seabed. The searobin has a bony head and wing-shaped pectoral fins; the fins have 2 or 3 rays that act as antennas. When hooked, this fish produces a frog-like croaking sound.

Answer: A party

Soiree is a word borrowed from the French language "soirée". The French word came from the word "soir" which means evening or night; the plural of soiree is soirees.

The word soiree means a formal and refined event, party or reception taking place at night, with the aim of socializing and entertaining. In general, in a soiree, there is food and drink accompanied by music and sometimes dance.

Answer: Bonsai

Bonsai means cultivated in a pot or tray. The Japanese word bon-sai refers to a type of art of cultivation to produce, in small containers, trees which replicate as a miniature a full-grown tree. The purpose of bonsai is contemplation, not production.

It is worth remembering that this art also exists in China and in other Asian countries. The ideograms which represent the word bonsai in Japanese do not contain the word tree.

Answer: Sarin

Sarin is an extremely poisonous gas, with formula C4H10FPO, which acts on the central nervous system, generating seizures and often leading to death. Sarin gas was classified under United Nations Resolution 687 as a weapon of mass destruction.

The word comes from German, for the surnames of its inventors Schrader, Ambros, Rudinger and van der LINde.

Answer: Fish with it

The word seine is linked to fishing. There are several types of fishing nets. Their size and shape depend on the type of fishing they are intended for; they are made of different types of fibers woven into a mesh-like structure. Seine is a type of fishnet that hangs vertically in the water; at the top of these nets there are floats and at the bottom there are weights. It can be used from the shore or from a boat. Seines have been used since the Stone Age. The poet Ovid makes reference to seine nets and they appear In Egyptian tomb paintings from 3,000 BCE.

The word seine comes from Greek "sagēnē", passing to Latin "sagēna" meaning "fishing net" or fishnet, a net which encloses fish when it is pulled.