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The Ultimate Word Origins Quiz | English

Etymology is like linguistic archeology. You dig into words and you discover earlier forms, meanings, etc. Have a try with these - occasionally surprising - word origins.

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

Author
flem-ish

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
93,101

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
3237

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Though the English word stomach derives from a Greek word stoma, that Greek word stoma itself does not mean stomach but:______________ Hint

mouth

belly

bile

intestine

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Question 2 of 10

2. Carillons got their names from a vulgar Latin word for a set of bells, :"quadrinio", or in a more French form: "quadrillon". How many bells was that originally? Hint

3. The French word gigue refers to a dance for which you need agile legs.
A leg of mutton is un gigot in that same language. Which word for a professional seducer of ladies is also related to the idea of a "dancer with agile legs"?

Answer: (Six letters.)

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Question 4 of 10

4. How did corned beef get its name? Hint

It was considered a rather corny type of food.

It had been corned i.e. preserved in grains of salt.

It' s originally from French boeuf cornu.

It was usually produced in Corning Ware containers

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Question 5 of 10

5. In more heroic times the man who walked in front of the army was the general himself, the army- ruler or "heri-wald". Later the man who walked in front of ther army was just the messenger, the announcer of news or the ________________

Answer: (Popular as a title for newspapers.The Daily __________; six letters.)

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Question 6 of 10

6. "Hurrah" was a shout that originated with the Cossacks in Russia. It meant: Hint

Long Live the Czar!

Attack!

Long Live the Commander!

Happy Birthday!

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Question 7 of 10

7. Which of these words refers to forecasting events on the basis of dreams? Hint

Chiromancy

Necromancy

Oniromancy

Nigromancy

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Question 8 of 10

8. A marinade was originally a very simple affair. It meant that you soaked food in ____________________ Hint

olive oil and rosemary

seaweed

coarse seasalt

salty seawater

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Question 9 of 10

9. Which of these words refers to a Portuguese type of song in which the sad fate of human beings is sung about in a plaintive, almost bluesy style? Hint

Saudade

Fandango

Fado

Caldeirade

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Question 10 of 10

10. Which of these is the correct origin of the word migraine ? Hint

megacranium the feeling that your head is getting too big

Greek hemicrania which means pain in one half of the skull

Old English mickle( big) + Latin cranium feeling that your head is swollen

from Latin migrans which refers to a pain that travels around

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Though the English word stomach derives from a Greek word stoma, that Greek word stoma itself does not mean stomach but:______________

Answer: mouth

The stomach was seen as the mouth of the digestive system.
By the way stomatitis is not stomach infection, but mouth infection.
Words relating to the digestion of food are gastronomy; gastritis etc.

2. Carillons got their names from a vulgar Latin word for a set of bells, :"quadrinio", or in a more French form: "quadrillon". How many bells was that originally?

Answer: 4

Carillons are a set of bells IN A TOWER.
Other words in which Latin quater is the root : quatuor; quartet.

3. The French word gigue refers to a dance for which you need agile legs. A leg of mutton is un gigot in that same language. Which word for a professional seducer of ladies is also related to the idea of a "dancer with agile legs"?

Answer: gigolo

The dancer finally became "a man who is paid by a woman to be her lover or companion".

4. How did corned beef get its name?

Answer: It had been corned i.e. preserved in grains of salt.

The beef is cooked in salty water and then pressed into metal containers where it can be kept for a long time. The grains of salt in which the beef was preserved were like the size and shape of corn kernels. To "corn" meat became a name for storing it in coarse salt.

Answer: herald

Heri as in German Heer (army).
Walt as in German Verwaltung (administration).
Heri-berg was where the army was given accomodation and kind of 'sheltered'. There went on a lot of drinking in those "heriberg"s who now are what the French call une auberge, the Italians un albergo and the Germans ein Herberg.

6. "Hurrah" was a shout that originated with the Cossacks in Russia. It meant:

Answer: Attack!

At least that's what the French Petit Robert Dictionary of Etymology claims. Hurrah occurs in French and in English.

7. Which of these words refers to forecasting events on the basis of dreams?

Answer: Oniromancy

Nigromany is a general term for black magic. Necromancy (compare necrophilia) is the prediction of events on the basis of the study of corpses. Chiromany keeps it simpler and studies hands.

8. A marinade was originally a very simple affair. It meant that you soaked food in ____________________

Answer: salty seawater

The etymology is very simple: marinade derives from "marine" which means "of the sea". The first marinades were little more than a 'bath of seawater'.

9. Which of these words refers to a Portuguese type of song in which the sad fate of human beings is sung about in a plaintive, almost bluesy style?

Answer: Fado

Fado= Portuguese for fate.
A fandango is a Spanish dance.
A saudade is not so much a type of song as a general sad, bluesy feeling which can be expressed through various forms: song, dance, poetry, etc.
A caldeirade is a Portuguese fish stew.

10. Which of these is the correct origin of the word migraine ?

Answer: Greek hemicrania which means pain in one half of the skull

Migraines have nothing to do with travelling pain.They concern one half of the skull.

Source: Author flem-ish

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