People Who Became Words - 12 Trivia Quiz

Answer: After a Trojan prince

Hector was a Trojan prince, who was one of the main warriors in the famous Trojan War. He was the leader of the Trojans and was known for his skill in warfare. The word 'hector' which means intimidate or push around or bully is named after the Trojan warrior.

Answer: Iris

Iris was the Greek Goddess of the rainbow. She was depicted as having a rainbow in her gown. The word iridescence, which means 'exhibiting rainbow-like luminous colours' is named after the goddess Iris.

Answer: Janus

Janus was a God in Roman mythology. He was represented as the God of bridges, thresholds and homes. The month January is named after Janus. It is believed that the Roman Emperor Pompilius introduced the month of January in the calendar.

Answer: The wife of King Ahab

Jezebel was a Phoenician princess and the wife of the Israeli King Ahab. According to legend, she was a worshipper of the God Baal and forced the people of Israel to worship Baal. It is also believed that the Hebrews became immoral thanks to her influence.

The word jezebel is used to refer to an evil or scheming woman. It is also used harshly to refer to a woman of loose morals, even though Jezebel was believed to be a faithful wife.

Answer: By a kiss

Judas Iscariot is well-known as the disciple of Jesus who betrayed him. Judas is believed to have betrayed Jesus for a price of thirty silver pieces. When the soldiers came in search of Jesus, Judas kissed Jesus to help the soldiers to identify him. This betrayal is forever remembered, as the word 'judas' is used to refer to any betrayer or traitor.

Answer: A Czech author

Franz Kafka was an author from Czechoslovakia who lived in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Kafka was an author whose stories were bizarre, complicated and sometimes illogical. The word Kafkaesque is used to describe his stories. Other such words based on authors' names include Dickensian, Orwellian, Byronic, etc.

Answer: False

The 'Knickerbockers' were a fictitious family who wore knee-length pants. This fictitious family appeared in Washington Irving's book 'History of New York', which was illustrated by George Cruikshanks. The word knickers, used to refer to half-pants or undergarments, is derived from the name of this fictional Dutch family.

Answer: They opposed the Industrial Revolution

According to some stories, Ned Ludd was a labourer who was opposed to the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution, which introduced mechanical looms. Ludd reportedly destroyed machinery after he lost his job. All the textile workers who lost their job or were in fear of losing their jobs were referred to as Luddites.

They opposed the introduction of automation. The word luddite is usually used to refer to anyone who opposes change or progress.

Answer: A measurement related to speed

Ernst Mach was an Austrian physicist and philosopher who introduced the concept of Mach number (named after him). The Mach number is a measurement of the ratio of the speed of a moving body to the speed of sound. When objects like aircraft or missiles travel at the speed of sound, the object's speed is measured using the unit Mach.

Answer: Malapropism

Richard Sheridan wrote a play 'The Rivals', which had a character called Mrs. Malaprop. This character would use wrong words in sentences creating comic situations. In the example listed in the question "If I reprehend any thing in this world, it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs", the word 'reprehend' is used for 'comprehend', 'oracular' for 'vernacular', 'derangement' for 'arrangement' and 'epitaph' for 'epithet'.

The play contains many such words spoken by Mrs. Malaprop. Any such substitution of words is known as malapropism. Dogberryism is similar to malapropism, however this comes from a play by Shakespeare. Spoonerism is the changing of vowels and consonants and Bushism is of-course the word play by US President George W Bush.