Words from the Names of Cities and Towns Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In the 1920s in the United States everyone was dancing. One of the most popular dances of that era was the charleston, which was named after a city in which southern U.S. state?

Answer: South Carolina

The charleston is a funny looking dance, really. During the dance participants bend their knees inward and thrust out their legs in a most tortuous manner. Perhaps the phrase 'roaring 20s' came from the screams of pain involved in doing dances like the charleston?

While there are some other towns or cities in the southeastern US, they are not the source of the dance's name.

2. Many foods are named for cities around the world. One example is this type of meat that is named for a city in Italy.

Answer: Bologna

Bologna is a wonderful city in eastern Italy known in part for being the birthplace of the lovely pork sausage called bologna (which for some odd reason is now pronounced 'baloney' in the United States). Strangely enough, the term baloney is synonymous with 'hogwash' (or 'nonsense'). There is nothing nonsensical about the city of Bologna, I can assure you.

3. Which of these language names is derived from the name of a city or town?

Answer: Cantonese

The term Cantonese is derived from the English name for the southern Chinese city Guangzhou (Canton). The Cantonese language is spoken by people of Guangdong (a southern province of China) and Hong Kong, and is very commonly the native language of Chinese immigrants around the world.

4. Which ancient city lends its name to a word that now refers to methods that are considered to be devious or underhanded, and/or something that is overly detailed?

Answer: Byzantium

Originally called Byzantium, it has gone through two major name changes since its ancient founding. It was later called Constantinople, after the Roman emperor Constantine, and is now called Istanbul by its Turkish natives. The term 'Byzantine' also refers to the decorative architectural (and artistic) style that was first developed within the realm of the ancient Byzantine Empire.

5. Another ancient city, Sparta of classical Greece, has a name which has become synonymous with which of the following terms?

Answer: Austere

Sparta was located in the southern portion of the Peloponnesian peninsula, and its inhabitants were known to live lifestyles that we in the modern day might consider to be rigorous and austere. The word 'spartan' is also used to describe the even more extreme ascetic lifestyle. Honestly, it couldn't have been that bad in ancient Sparta, could it?

6. There are a number of fabrics used for making clothing that have names derived from cities or towns. Which of these fabrics derives its name from a city in Turkey?

Answer: Angora

The four fabrics presented here are but a sampling of the many different textiles whose names have been derived from names of cities or towns. As you might have guessed, the patterned fabric known as 'damask' has its name derived from Damascus in Syria. The name 'cambric', a type of linen, comes from Cambrai, a town in France. Balbriggan is a town in Ireland where that knitted cotton textile was first produced. Angora wool, produced from goat or rabbit hair, comes originally from Angora (now known as Ankara), Turkey.

7. The all-important hamburger, staple of the American cuisine, has a name that comes to us from a city in which country?

Answer: Germany

You will find Hamburg in northern Germany, where the prototype of the dish that we now know of as the hamburger was first concocted. During World War I there was an attempt in the United States to replace the word 'hamburger' with 'liberty sandwich', but fortunately it did not stick. Incidentally, the 'frankfurter' (aka, hot dog) is also named for a German city, Frankfurt.

8. Which of these creepy little creatures derives its name from the name of a city in Europe?

Answer: Tarantula

The word 'mosquito' comes from the Portuguese word for fly (mosca), while the salamander was a creature of ancient Greek myth. The chameleon gets its name from the Greek 'khamai', meaning 'on the ground', and leon, meaning 'lion'. The word 'tarantula', describing a large, hairy spider that you wouldn't want to meet alone in a dark room (actually, tarantulas are quite harmless!) is from the southern Italian city Taranto.

9. This term refers to a place that people go for health or beauty treatments, but originally it was the name of a town in Belgium. Which of these words fits the description?

Answer: Spa

Spa is a resort town in eastern Belgium that became famous for its mineral hot springs. So noted and popular were these hot springs that the term 'spa' became synonymous with any health resort providing similar amenities. Some have suggested that the name 'spa' comes from the Romans as an acronym of 'Sanitas Per Aquas' (mental health through water).

10. When someone has met their 'Waterloo', they have met their defeat. Which of these historic figures is attached to this term for a village (also in Belgium)?

Answer: Napoleon

Napoleon met his final defeat at Waterloo, a small village in Belgium, in 1815. Since that time, to 'meet one's Waterloo', means to suffer a decisive loss or failure. Let's hope that you did not meet your Waterloo with this question, but rather escaped victoriously!

Thank you for playing this quiz. If you enjoyed it, please feel free to try some of my other stuff.

Source: Author thejazzkickazz

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Some of the most interesting words in the English language are derived from the names of world cities, towns or village. See if you can't recognize some of these fascinating terms!

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