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Quiz about Latin Lives
Quiz about Latin Lives

Latin Lives! Trivia Quiz


Who says Latin is a dead language? This quiz proves that it is alive and well - at least, partially.

A multiple-choice quiz by Cymruambyth. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
Cymruambyth
Time
3 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
224,304
Updated
Sep 02 23
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
4985
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: shvdotr (10/10), Guest 75 (7/10), kibou (8/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Who hasn't served on a committee at one time or another? What is the Latin term for a committee charged with dealing with one specific task? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. If you're ever charged with a crime, I hope you have a good ______? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Every student who ever wrote a paper on any subject has made use of this Latin word when making footnotes. Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. We're all familiar with this method of human propagation. Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. So, you graduated 'magna cum laude'. Just what does that mean? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Remember that wonderful movie, "The Dead Poets Society" ? What was the Latin motto that Robin Williams' character urged his students to adopt? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. This common Latin phrase is usually found on book plates. Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. You're in hospital and you get a glimpse of your chart. Your doctor has written n.p.o. on it, and that means you needn't expect a supper tray because n.p.o is shorthand for which Latin phrase? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. You've been caught in flagrante delicto. What does that mean? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Probably the most common Latin word still in use is found on doors in public buildings. Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 26 2024 : shvdotr: 10/10
Mar 22 2024 : Guest 75: 7/10
Mar 20 2024 : kibou: 8/10
Mar 18 2024 : colbymanram: 2/10
Mar 16 2024 : cardsfan_027: 7/10
Mar 12 2024 : Guest 86: 8/10
Mar 10 2024 : Guest 14: 10/10
Mar 01 2024 : teenagewife: 8/10
Feb 28 2024 : maryhouse: 9/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Who hasn't served on a committee at one time or another? What is the Latin term for a committee charged with dealing with one specific task?

Answer: Ad hoc

Ad hoc means literally 'to do this thing', and it is used today in reference to something that is improvised and done on the spot, or, in the case of committees, charged with carrying out a specific task. Ad hominem (literal meaning: 'relating to a specific person') describes an argument based on emotion rather than reason, attacking the person who put forward the argument rather than the argument itself. Ad lib ('do as you please') means to speak off the cuff, and ad infinitum is 'going on forever'. Come to think of it, some of the committees I've served on seem to fall under the ad infinitum description.
2. If you're ever charged with a crime, I hope you have a good ______?

Answer: Alibi

See, I told you Latin is still alive. An alibi, of course, means that you were elsewhere at the time of the crime (yes, literally, it means 'elsewhere'.) Modus operandi, usually shortened to m.o. by the police, describes the particular methods used by a specific felon, an alias (which means 'otherwise') is a name other than your own, and amicus curiae literally translates to 'friend of the court' and is a present-day legal term.
3. Every student who ever wrote a paper on any subject has made use of this Latin word when making footnotes.

Answer: Ibidem

Ibidem (usually shortened to 'ibid') means 'in the same place', and is used when citing one's reference sources. The first footnote referring to a specific source will give the full information on the source, and subsequent footnotes on references drawn fom the same source will be indicated 'ibid'. Quid pro quo means 'which for what' or, in modern parlance, 'tit for tat'. Ergo means 'therefore' as every math student knows when reaching a logical conclusion in an algebraic equation, and emeritus means, literally, veteran (or worn-out) and that paper may well be marked by a professor emeritus, a retired professor.
4. We're all familiar with this method of human propagation.

Answer: In vitro

In vitro literally means 'in glass', and since little Louise Brown was conceived in a test tube back in the late '70s (she was born in 1978), the world has become very familiar with this term. Fac simile (we've compressed the two words into one) means 'make a similar thing'. Sub rosa, which literally means 'under the rose', means secret(ly). (If you were having a meeting in a room with a rose hanging from the lampshade you knew that everything said in that meeting was not to be repeated outside that room.) And ipso facto means 'by the fact itself', or 'it's as plain as the nose on your face'.
5. So, you graduated 'magna cum laude'. Just what does that mean?

Answer: With great honour

Of course, if you'd tried harder, you could have graduated summa cum laude, which means 'with highest honour'.
6. Remember that wonderful movie, "The Dead Poets Society" ? What was the Latin motto that Robin Williams' character urged his students to adopt?

Answer: Carpe Diem

Carpe diem means 'pluck the day', although it's more commonly translated as 'seize the day'. (It's a line from Horace's Odes 1, 11.8.) Per diem, as any business traveller will tell you, is the amount of money allotted by one's company for you to spend on food and lodging each day of your trip (if you choose to stay at the Ritz Carlton and your per diem won't cover the full cost, you pay the difference). Every U.S. Marine knows that 'Semper Fidelis' means 'Always Faithful' and the U.S. Coast Guard's motto is 'Semper Paratus', which means 'Always Prepared'.
7. This common Latin phrase is usually found on book plates.

Answer: Ex libris

Ex libris means 'from the books' and all my books have Ex Libris book plates identifying them as mine. A 'persona non grata' is a person who is not welcome (a phrase I use to describe those people who borrow my books and don't return them!) You don't have to be a philosophy student to know that 'Cogito ergo sum' means "I think, therefore I am." (according to Rene Descartes), and Camera Obscura literally means 'dark chamber', and a camera obscura is a device that used to be used in drawing.
8. You're in hospital and you get a glimpse of your chart. Your doctor has written n.p.o. on it, and that means you needn't expect a supper tray because n.p.o is shorthand for which Latin phrase?

Answer: Nil per os

If it says n.p.o. on your chart, you're on intravenous feeding, because nil per os means 'nothing by mouth'. (Latin os, oris is neuter, and so the forms for the nominative and accusative are identical). Ora pro nobis means 'pray for us', while non per os is ungrammatic Latin and nec plus os is just gibberish.
9. You've been caught in flagrante delicto. What does that mean?

Answer: Red-handed

Oops! There you were with your hand in the cookie jar just before dinner, and Mom came into the kitchen! She caught you doing something you knew you shouldn't have done. The actual Latin phrase translates as 'in a blazing wrong'. Well, okay, eating cookies before dinner isn't the end of the world, but I bet that after that incident your mom put the cookie jar where you couldn't reach it.
10. Probably the most common Latin word still in use is found on doors in public buildings.

Answer: Exit

Exit means merely 'he/she goes out'. Egress is also Latin, but it means 'going out', and both entrance and enter derive from the Latin 'intrare' meaning 'go in' or 'come in'. Just a quick trivia note on egress: the great showman P.T. Barnum realized he was losing money because people weren't moving fast enough through one of his displays of nature's anomalies (he called them freak shows, but that's so-o-o not politically correct) consequently preventing new customers from getting in. To solve the problem, he put up a sign that read 'To the Egress' on a door.

The sightseers, thinking it meant yet another strange creature for their viewing delight, went through the door and found themselves back on the street!
Source: Author Cymruambyth

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