I Got These Words from India Trivia Quiz

Answer: Avatar

The Sanskrit word avatar has its roots in the term 'to cross over' and originally meant the earthly manifestation of a deity. In Hinduism, it is most commonly used to refer to the ten different incarnations of Vishnu, one of the triumvirate which also includes Brahma and Shiva.

While avatar is used to describe a physical manifestation of an idea or philosophy, in video games it is used for a character assumed by the player in the game.

Answer: Loot

Loot is used to describe the act of plundering or ransacking. The spoils of such an activity are also referred to as loot.

Answer: True

Blighty began to be used among the British soldiers stationed in India during the Raj as a term of endearment for each other and their home country. Its roots lie in the Urdu word vilayti which means foreign and may have been used by the native people of India to refer to the foreigners.

Answer: Mantra

Mantra originally referred to a word or string of words used during meditation. A well known mantra is the Gayatri Mantra which is found among the ancient texts called the Vedas.

Answer: Cooked

Pukka is also used in Hindi and Urdu apart from Sanskrit. The word originally meant cooked or roasted. In Hindi slang, pukka is now also used to mean confirmed or sure.

Answer: Typhoon

Typhoon is derived from the Urdu word toofan which means a violent storm.

Answer: Jute

It is believed that jute was named after the Bengali word jhuta or jota which means twisted hair. The Bengali word itself has its roots in Sanskrit. Jute is a vegetable fiber and is primarily used to make gunny cloth.

Answer: Ginger

The word ginger may have reached the English language from its Latin name zingiberi. However, this name itself may have been derived from Sanskrit which in turn would have taken it from the Tamil or Malayalam inchi. The root of the ginger plant is used extensively in traditional forms of medicine apart from its use in cooking.

Answer: Corundum

Corundum is the mineral form of aluminium oxide and is the second hardest mineral after diamond. The red variety is known as ruby and other colours are called sapphires with the most famous being the blue sapphire. The Tamil word for ruby is kuruvindam from which corundum has been derived.

Answer: Jaguar

Jaguar is derived from the Tupi-Guarani language family spoken in South America. The feline is native to South America and it is hence highly unlikely that it would find a mention in the Indian languages. Cheetah is taken directly from the Hindi name for the animal which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word citrakayah meaning variegated and could refer to the spotted appearance of the feline. Mongoose and bandicoot are both taken from the Telugu language.