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A Cat by any Other Name... Trivia Quiz

Cats have been domesticated for at least 9,500 years. This quiz asks you to identify the word for cat in different languages.

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

Author
Cymruambyth

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
237,165

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
518

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Everyone knows that the ancient Egyptians worshipped cats as divine (smart Egyptians!) What is the Egyptian word for 'cat'? Hint

Bast

Mou

Pasht

Mush

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. If I went to a pet shop in Budapest to buy a kitten, what would I ask for? Hint

Cuci

Cashti

Cica

Chachi

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. My first language was Welsh, and the Welsh word for cat is ...? Hint

Cath

Challt

Catti

Cuth

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. The Mandarin word for cat could give the feline delusions of grandeur. Hint

Lao

Dao

Tsu

Mao

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. The Swahili word for cat is ...? Hint

Mau-Mau

Simba

Paka

Uhuru

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. The Romans had a word for 'cat', too. Which of these is it? Hint

Felinis

Felix

Felinus and felina

Felis

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Question 7 of 10

7. In Heidelberg, the word for cat is 'katze', but if you were calling "Here, kitty!", what would you say? Hint

Komm her, K�tzchen!

Willkommen, Katze!

Kommen sie her, Katzi!

Kommen sie hierher, Mitzie!

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. We've all heard of Persian cats, but do we know how to say cat in Farsi? Hint

Bache gorbeh

Bacha

Goreh

Gorbe

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. We once had a chocolate-point Siamese cat whom we named Chocolat. Had I known that this was the Thai word for cat, I'd have named her this instead. Hint

Kuching

Con meo

Maa-oh

Kutjing

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. The Romanian word for 'cat' is very similar to the Latin word for fish. Maybe because cats like eating fish? Hint

Piscina

Piscine

Pica

Pisica

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Everyone knows that the ancient Egyptians worshipped cats as divine (smart Egyptians!) What is the Egyptian word for 'cat'?

Answer: Mou

One wonders if the word for cat in Egyptian derives from the sound cats make - miaow? The 'ou' in 'mou' is pronounced like the 'ou' in 'couch'. Bast or Pasht was the Egyptian cat god. Mush is just a friendly term for a chum - feline or human.

2. If I went to a pet shop in Budapest to buy a kitten, what would I ask for?

Answer: Cica

The Hungarian word for kitten is 'cica' (pronounced tsee-tsa), and since Hungarian is spoken in Budapest, I'd naturally ask for a 'cica'. The Hungarian word for 'cat' is 'macska' (pronounced much-ka).

3. My first language was Welsh, and the Welsh word for cat is ...?

Answer: Cath

My Welsh great grandmother had a cat named Catherine, called Cath for short. The neighbours all thought that was a great joke. Catherine didn't seem to mind.

4. The Mandarin word for cat could give the feline delusions of grandeur.

Answer: Mao

Mao (rhymes with cow) is what Mandarin-speakers call the cat. Makes me wonder what Tse Tung means.

5. The Swahili word for cat is ...?

Answer: Paka

You wouldn't want old Simba lying on your hearth rug, by George! Simba is the Swahili word for lion. Likewise, the Mau-Mau didn't make good housepets, either. Mau-Mau was the name of a Kenyan liberation group active in the 1950s. The Mau-Mau members were pretty fierce and known for their penchant for butchering anyone who wasn't Mau-Mau. 'Uhuru' is the Swahili word for 'freedom'.

6. The Romans had a word for 'cat', too. Which of these is it?

Answer: Felis

We get the word 'feline' from the Latin 'felis', meaning 'cat'. 'Felix' means'happy' in Latin, so I guess Felix the cartoon cat was a happy felis.

7. In Heidelberg, the word for cat is 'katze', but if you were calling "Here, kitty!", what would you say?

Answer: Komm her, K�tzchen!

My German is somewhat limited, but I believe that to be correct.

8. We've all heard of Persian cats, but do we know how to say cat in Farsi?

Answer: Gorbe

Bache gorbeh is Farsi for kitten, and I made up goreh and bacha. I just hope they don't mean anything untoward in any other language.

9. We once had a chocolate-point Siamese cat whom we named Chocolat. Had I known that this was the Thai word for cat, I'd have named her this instead.

Answer: Maa-oh

'Con meo' is Vietnamese, 'kutjing' is Indonesian, and 'kuching' is Malay - and they all mean cat.

10. The Romanian word for 'cat' is very similar to the Latin word for fish. Maybe because cats like eating fish?

Answer: Pisica

A piscina is a sink in the sanctuary or the sacristy of a church which empties into the earth rather than the sewer. It is used to dispose of left-over consecrated wine after Eucharist. A pica is both a printing measurement and a disease that affects humans and animals which causes them to eat strange things like rocks, paper, etc. Piscine is pool in French (the kind you swim in, not the kind you play).

Source: Author Cymruambyth

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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