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What 's In A Word ?
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There often is more in a word or name than meets the eye. Understanding the background and origin of a word helps us to know what we are talking about. Have a try.
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Difficult
10 Q
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flem-ish
Apr 18 02
990 plays
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Origins Of First Names
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Many English names happen to be foreign names in disguise. This quiz deals with the meaning and origins of names that were borrowed from Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Scandinavian and a few other languages.
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Difficult
10 Q
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flem-ish
Jan 21 04
918 plays
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Can You Rephrase That? Nummer Vier (4)
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Since this quiz is "nummer vier" (4) in Dutch, appropriately the first question is about the Dutch.
(Sources include, but are not limited to:
"I've Got Goose Pimples"; "Reader's Digest" & "Why We Say It".)
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Difficult
10 Q
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logcrawler
Mar 30 10
243 plays
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"Alfresco" English: Words From The Out of Doors
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Foreign words ("foreign" originating from the Latin "foris", meaning "out of doors") are generally welcomed warmly into the English language. This quiz will test your knowledge of some of our adopted words.
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Average
10 Q
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uglybird
Jun 10 04
819 plays
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Can You Rephrase That?
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In response to another author's challenge, I decided to research some common phrases and words that Americans and other English speakers use. Hope you enjoy the quiz!
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Difficult
10 Q
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logcrawler
Mar 04 10
900 plays
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Where Did That Word Come From?
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Most English words come from Latin or 'Old English'. Here are some that don't. But where DID they come from?
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Average
15 Q
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Baloo55th
Apr 26 03
1320 plays
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Greek and Latin in English
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Greek and Latin have influenced the whole Western civilisation, especially in the fields of science and learning. See how well versed you are in that type of vocabulary.
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Tough
10 Q
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flem-ish
Sep 06 03
747 plays
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Word Families
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When learning a language, it matters that one recognizes related words. Sometimes appearances are deceptive. See which of the 4 words is "the unrelated outsider".
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Tough
10 Q
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flem-ish
Sep 20 02
813 plays
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Word Links
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We often are blind to the historic links there are between words. This quiz points out some such 'unexpected' relations between words.
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Average
10 Q
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flem-ish
Mar 28 02
1128 plays
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Month Origins
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This quiz is on where the names of months came from.
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Average
10 Q
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napierslogs
Apr 18 02
2298 plays
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Word Origins
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This is a quiz about some obscure origins of words in the English language. Enjoy!
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Tough
10 Q
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fuadj
Apr 01 03
879 plays
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Origins of English words and phrases
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Interesting origins to common words and phrases.
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Tough
10 Q
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vendome
May 22 00
2070 plays
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Insults and their Origins
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Most insults, taken literally, mean the same thing (a part of the body not suitable for mention in a quiz). However, some have more obscure derivations.
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Difficult
10 Q
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Islingtonian
Feb 17 05
2172 plays
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What's in a Name?
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Imagine if we were called by the meaning of our names rather than by the names themselves. Some of us might have a hard time living up to our appellations! Can you figure out the names that match these meanings?
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Very Difficult
10 Q
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Cymruambyth
Jan 26 10
561 plays
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Phrases, Myths and Ancient History
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Myths have made their way into our language in so many ways. The following involve some common idioms which relate to myths and a little bit of history...
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Difficult
10 Q
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alkmene
Feb 02 04
1164 plays
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Son of Origins of Words and Phrases
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More strange origins of familiar words and phrases.
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Difficult
10 Q
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vendome
May 22 00
1911 plays
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Word Origins From Mythology
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Some mythical characters have worked their way into everyday language
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Average
10 Q
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robert362
Feb 26 01
2895 plays
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Surprising Words and Word-Origins
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If you take a second look at a word you often are in for a surprising link with another one. See if you can find the 'hidden origins' of some common and less common English words.
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Tough
10 Q
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flem-ish
Nov 22 01
804 plays
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Words Too Have Family
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Many modern words describe a former function or are derivatives of words enclosing that function. E.g., a 'Colonel' was a leader of a 'COLONNA ' (Italian for column). In this quiz, identify the modern words that evolved from their various roots.
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Average
10 Q
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chrissie_26
Apr 20 01
1299 plays
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Words With A Story
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There are so many words we use frequently without noticing there is some kind of story linked to them. See if you can link these with their supposed origin, meaning etc.
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Tough
10 Q
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flem-ish
Nov 23 01
1008 plays
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Word Origins From History
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Here are some questions about word origins that derive from History.
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Tough
10 Q
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robert362
Sep 25 00
3597 plays
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Word origins
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Find the modern English words from the description of their origins.
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Average
10 Q
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meshkenet
Feb 17 07
570 plays
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Origins of Some English Words
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Here are questions on the origins of some English words.
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Tough
20 Q
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chessart
Oct 05 00
939 plays
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Hidden Meanings
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Words often hide meanings they no longer have. Just see how good a linguistic sleuth you are.
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Tough
10 Q
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flem-ish
Aug 26 03
939 plays
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Word Histories
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Words keep changing. In strange ways they may get new forms and/or new meanings.See if you can identify the correct "links".
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Average
10 Q
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flem-ish
Sep 18 03
807 plays
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Interesting Word Origins
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See if you cannot decipher the origins of these fascinating words of the English language...good luck!
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Tough
10 Q
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thejazzkickazz
Oct 26 01
705 plays
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Etymology - Words and Myths
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Each question relates to an English word we use often in speech and writing - but all have a story behind them. What is the provenance or origin of each of the following words, concepts and phrases...?
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Average
15 Q
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alkmene
Dec 08 03
903 plays
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Pardon Me, Your Greek Roots Are Showing--Part 2
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More Greek quizzing--this time we are looking at roots--are you ready to test your roots knowledge?
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Average
10 Q
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57wordsmith
Jul 15 05
468 plays
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Origins of Days and Months
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Answer is the day or month named after the figure described. Most are multiple choice. All names used are the English version.
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Average
10 Q
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steffybee3
Mar 23 04
930 plays
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Words ... words ... words
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The origins of words are often hotly debated. In this quiz most of the word-origins are generally accepted by the current etymologists. Try an educated guess?
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Difficult
10 Q
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flem-ish
Apr 15 02
1269 plays
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