Origins of Some English Words

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. 'Sesquipedalian', meaning 'having many syllables', is derived from Latin words meaning what? seventy years old being long-winded walking very fast foot and a half long

2. 'Rostrum', meaning 'a stage for public speaking', is derived from the Latin verb 'rodere', which means what? to rotate to speak to gnaw to persuade

3. 'Careen', meaning 'to sway from side to side', is derived from the Latin 'carina', meaning what? flutter fruit turn nutshell

4. 'Supercilious', meaning 'patronizingly haughty', is derived from the Latin 'super', meaning above, and 'cilium', which stands for which body part? finger elbow belly button eyelid

5. 'Penumbra' is derived from the Latin word 'umbra', meaning what? shadow smooth gray oily

6. 'Cynosure'. meaning a 'guide', or a 'center of attention', meant what in Greek or Latin? power dot dog's tail leader

7. 'Megalopolis', meaning a densely populated area, was the name of an actual city in what ancient land? India Greece Egypt Babylon

8. 'Desultory', meaning 'marked by lack of a definite plan', comes from the Latin word desultory which meant what? a meandering river a fast runner a winding road a circus trick-rider

9. 'Subjugate' was derived from the Latin 'jugum', meaning what? hand mountain island yoke

10. Which planet gave its name to a word meaning 'having rapid and unpredictable changes of mood'? Mars Saturn Mercury Venus

11. Of special interest are words derived from real people or characters. For example, the word 'quisling', meaning a traitor, especially someone who betrays his own country by cooperating with an occupying enemy, was derived from Vidkun Quisling (1887-1945), who was from what country? Norway Denmark France Belgium

12. The word 'gerrymander' was derived from Elbridge Gerry, who created an artificial-looking voting district in which locale? Virginia Ireland Massachusetts Scotland

13. 'Malapropism', meaning 'the ridiculous misuse of words, is derived from a character in a play by whom? Richard Sheridan Christopher Marlowe William Shakespeare Oscar Wilde

14. 'Spoonerism', meaning the unintentional interchange of sounds, often initial sounds, was derived from W. A. Spooner (1844-1930), who was what? a lawyer a Congressman a doctor a minister

15. 'Quixotic' is derived from Don Quixote, a character in a novel by whom? Dickens George Bernard Shaw Mark Twain Cervantes

16. We finish with some animal references. 'Alopecia', meaning 'baldness', is derived from a Greek word for which animal? squirrel fox wolf bear

17. 'Gossamer', meaning delicate or flimsy, is derived from a Middle English word for which animal? spider snake hummingbird goose

18. 'Lupine' is derived from the Latin 'lupus', which means what animal? cat wolf badger bear

19. 'Porcine' is derived from the Latin 'porcinus', meaning which animal? horse dog cat pig

20. 'Simian' is derived from the Latin 'simia', meaning which animal? pig snake frog ape