Special Sub-Topic: Difficult Words #2 Click Here To Play: Difficult Words #2

Which of the following has an alternative meaning 'to sigh'?

sough. 'Sough' refers to a whistling or rushing sound, usually made by the wind or sea. It is of Germanic origin, and derived from the Old English 'swegan'.

One of the following terms represents a Heraldic red color, but which?

gules. The term 'gules' is ultimately derived from the Latin 'gula', meaning the 'throat'. I came to English via Old French (goles) and derives its red colored meaning from the red-dyed fur pieces that were worn as neck ornaments in medieval times.

A Belgian hare is described by which of the following very curious and rare words?

leporine. This word is simply from the Latin 'leporinus', which means 'hare'. I'm afraid I made up the other awful terms, and for that, I apologize.

Which of these words can be used by a doctor to describe early detection of an illness?

prodrome. The word 'prodrome' comes from the Greek 'prodromos' ultimately, meaning 'precursor'. It has the meaning 'an early symptom indicating the onset of illness' according to the Oxford Dictionary.

What word is similar to chafe?

gride. And chafe, of course, means to become sore by excessive rubbing.

To torment someone unmercilessly might be an activity described by which of these exciting lexical wonders?

bullyrag. This is an informal term used to describe a very intimidating form of scolding. The origin of the term is unknown, but clearly the term 'bully' is related.

What word refers to a box in which standardized coins used for weighing purpose are kept?

pyx. Precisely, this box is kept by the Royal Mint in England, for use once a year for the testing of coin weights. It also is used to describe the box in which the bread used during the Catholic Eucharist is kept. 'Pyx' comes from the Greek 'puxis', meaning 'box'.

Which of these very rare words is similar in meaning to asthenia?

cachexia. Both asthenia and cachexia are used to describe weakness and/or lack of energy. Asthenia describes such weakness in and of itself, while cachexia is clearly as a result of severe illness.

Which of these strange words describes colicky pain?

torminous. Torminous has the root prefix 'torm', meaning to twist. Often, pain from the abdominal disorder called colic feels like a twisting of the intestines.

What does a person who is labelled 'Misoneist' hate?

new junk. The Greek prefix 'misos' means 'hatred', while 'neos' means 'new'. The 'junk' part of the answer was added for my own fun and amusement! Thank you for playing, I hope you enjoyed the quiz!