Sources of English: Latin

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Especially from the fields of activity in which the Romans were superior, the Anglo-Saxon tribes took over words to describe what to them were innovations. Such new terms were "calx" ,"tegula", "mortarium",and "moneta". Which of them was the only one that did not refer to a building material but to their system of currency? moneta tegula calx puteus

2. The Romans were great builders of roads and of military fortifications.One of the words we borrowed from them was "wall" from "vallum". What was the original meaning of "vallum"? valley palisade strength stone wall

3. The Anglo-Saxons had been in contact with Roman civilisation long before they crossed over to the British Isles. They had picked up various words from 'kitchen Latin' such as 'discus', which was not only what the discobolos (or: disc-thrower) used, but also the flat round plate from which the Romans ate.The word is now either the vessel or the food served in it. In other words the disc became modern English: ______? Answer: (Four-letter word ...)

4. The Anglo-Saxons knew the pig, which in Latin was 'sus', adjective 'suinus'. From 'suinus' they derived 'swine'. What word did they derive from a much more Mediterranean product 'vinum'? Answer: (One Word)

5. Many foodstuffs such as fruits, nuts and vegetables were 'imported' into the cooking style of the Anglo-Saxons via contact with the Romans.Which of these was a NUT ? castanea prunum pisum cerasca

6. Caseum and butyrum were culinary terms too.So was 'furca' and 'cerefolium'. Which of them did not refer to a dairy-product, vegetable or herb, but to a kitchen utensil? cerefolium butyrum furca caseum

7. It would be quite wrong to think the Anglo-Saxons only took over materialistic terms. Especially when they had settled in Britain and had been Christianised, a number of Church Latin terms were taken over.The church (Greek kyrika) put episcopoi (inspectors) at the head of its 'regional entities'. What is the modern word for such an 'epi-scopos' ('controller')? Answer: (Cardinals came later. Use singular.No article.)

8. The Church brought the 'eu-angellion' or 'good news'. Those 'good tidings' were originally called 'god-spell', or 'good prophecy, good message for the future'. What is the word that derived from God-spell? Answer: (Six letters- Mark, Luke,Matthew and John would certainly find this easy.)

9. Skipping the influence of French that started with the Battle of Hastings, we find more Latin borrowings during the Renaissance often inspired by Greek. Especially in scholarly and scientific language new words were coined. What was for instance the Latin-Greek word created by scholars to describe 'a general course of instruction' or 'the full circle of knowledge children had to learn' ? omniscience dictionary encyclopedia comprehension

10. It's often difficult to distinguish between a word that derives from Latin and another that derives from either Italian, Spanish or French -- all bastardized forms of Latin. The words are often very close in appearance.Which of these is the only word of truly Latin origin? sonnet peninsula belvedere fresco