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Quiz about Etymology of the Funtrivia Categories
Quiz about Etymology of the Funtrivia Categories

Etymology of the Funtrivia Categories Quiz


A journey through the word roots of all 20 FunTrivia Category names.

A multiple-choice quiz by kscleaves. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
kscleaves
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
314,878
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
20
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
12 / 20
Plays
2585
Awards
Editor's Choice
Last 3 plays: Guest 104 (13/20), pwefc (15/20), Guest 73 (14/20).
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Question 1 of 20
1. Animals: What path did the word "animal" follow to reach its current usage? Hint


Question 2 of 20
2. Brain Teasers: Can the words "brain" and "tease" both be traced back to the same language?


Question 3 of 20
3. Celebrities: When the word "celebrity" first crossed the English Channel from France in 1380, its definition had very little resemblance to what it currently means. How was the word first used in English? Hint


Question 4 of 20
4. Entertainment: We next entertain ourselves by contemplating the source of the word "entertainment." Which romance language gave us this particularly entertaining term? Hint


Question 5 of 20
5. For Children: True or False: The words "children" and "cauldron" come from the same root.


Question 6 of 20
6. General Knowledge: The word "general" comes from the Latin "genus," meaning "race or stock." Which of the following words also comes to us from "genus?" Hint


Question 7 of 20
7. Geography: The roots of the word "geography" are Greek - "ge" meaning earth and "graphia" for description. If the word had come from Old English roots instead, how might it look? Hint


Question 8 of 20
8. History: True or false: The word "history" comes from a single Greek word.


Question 9 of 20
9. Hobbies: The word "hobbies" come to us from children's rocking horses, known to many as "hobby-horses." How do you suppose it made the jump from describing a toy to its modern usage as a pastime or idle amusement? Hint


Question 10 of 20
10. Humanities: In Latin the word was "humanus." From there it went through France and became "humain," and eventually "human" in English. However, "humanus" also took a trip through Germany and came out the other side as "guma." What English word comes from "guma?" Hint


Question 11 of 20
11. Literature: When the word "literature" reached the English language in the late 1300s, it replaced an Old English word that had been used for the same purpose. Which word do you suppose they were using beforehand? Hint


Question 12 of 20
12. Movies: It took 106 years for the Italian term "influenza" (1743) to become "the flu" in 1849. In contrast, it took only 3 years for the term "omnibus" (1829) to get shortened to "bus" (1832).

How long did it take for people to abbreviate "moving pictures" to "movies?"
Hint


Question 13 of 20
13. Music: True or False: The word "music" is an eponym from Musymia, the Greek goddess of song.


Question 14 of 20
14. People: Much like "literature," the word "people" came from France and eventually surpassed a synonymous Old English word in popularity. However, in this case the old word was not completely removed from our modern vocabulary. What was the old word? (Hint: it came from Norway.) Hint


Question 15 of 20
15. Religion: The source of the word "religion" is disputed depending on which source you consult. The most common current theory is that it comes to us from "religare," from which we also get the words "rely" and "ligament." What do you suppose "religare" meant in Latin? Hint


Question 16 of 20
16. Science & Technology: True or false: The words "science" and "technology" both come from Greek words that meant "to cut."


Question 17 of 20
17. Sports: The word "sport" comes to us from the French word "desporter." Knowing this, which English usage do you suppose came first? (Hint: A current French synonym might be "amuser.") Hint


Question 18 of 20
18. Television: When scientists were discussing the possibilities of TV back in the 19th century, two other words were suggested to describe the idea. One of the terms was "telephote." What was the other also-ran word? Hint


Question 19 of 20
19. Video Games: True or false: The words "video" and "game" are both among the oldest words in the English language, both dating back to before the year 1000 CE.


Question 20 of 20
20. World: The word "world", in its original Old English definition, referred to the age of mankind and the human condition. It was a compound word, consisting of "wer" for man and "ald" for age. What other word uses the root "wer"? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 24 2024 : Guest 104: 13/20
Feb 29 2024 : pwefc: 15/20
Feb 02 2024 : Guest 73: 14/20
Feb 01 2024 : Guest 73: 11/20

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Animals: What path did the word "animal" follow to reach its current usage?

Answer: Latin to French to English

The word "animal" first appeared in English between 1300 and 1350. It came to us from Latin (anima) through Old French (animale) to Middle English.
2. Brain Teasers: Can the words "brain" and "tease" both be traced back to the same language?

Answer: Yes

Brain (braegen) and tease (taesan) both come to us from Old English.

If you follow the original meanings of the word roots, you get a phrase meaning "to pull apart the front of the skull." The more pleasant term "brain teaser" first appeared in print in 1923.
3. Celebrities: When the word "celebrity" first crossed the English Channel from France in 1380, its definition had very little resemblance to what it currently means. How was the word first used in English?

Answer: A group ceremony or ritual

Celebrity comes to us from the Latin "celebritas," meaning a multitude, and then through France where it meant the same thing. When it first appeared in English people were more likely to gather for church services than for autographs. It first was used to describe a famous person in 1829.
4. Entertainment: We next entertain ourselves by contemplating the source of the word "entertainment." Which romance language gave us this particularly entertaining term?

Answer: French

Originally "inter" and "tenere" ("to hold among") in Latin, the French turned it into "entretenir," meaning "to hold together." When it originally came over to English, it meant the same thing.
5. For Children: True or False: The words "children" and "cauldron" come from the same root.

Answer: False

Nope. "Child" came from Old English "cild" and has always meant pretty much the same thing. "Cauldron" comes from Latin, and uses the same root as "caldera," meaning the hot center of a volcano.
6. General Knowledge: The word "general" comes from the Latin "genus," meaning "race or stock." Which of the following words also comes to us from "genus?"

Answer: gender

All of the words come to us from Latin. "Genuflect" has a base in the word for knee. "Genius" and "engine" both come from the word "gignere," meaning "to produce."
7. Geography: The roots of the word "geography" are Greek - "ge" meaning earth and "graphia" for description. If the word had come from Old English roots instead, how might it look?

Answer: earthwriting

The closest equivalent Old English roots would be "erth" and "writan." "Terrascription" uses Latin roots. "Terragraphy" is a combination of Latin and Greek roots. Globomancy is completely made up and would likely involve magic and spheres.
8. History: True or false: The word "history" comes from a single Greek word.

Answer: True

Unlike "geography," which comes from two words joined together, "history" has been in one piece going all the way back to the Greeks. The Greek word "Historia" referred to education by asking questions and investigating written records.
9. Hobbies: The word "hobbies" come to us from children's rocking horses, known to many as "hobby-horses." How do you suppose it made the jump from describing a toy to its modern usage as a pastime or idle amusement?

Answer: Just like rocking horses, hobbies don't get you anywhere.

The first connection between hobby-horses and hobbies appeared in 1676. Hobby-horses derived their name from the light cavalry armed with lances that were known as "Hobilars" in the middle ages.
10. Humanities: In Latin the word was "humanus." From there it went through France and became "humain," and eventually "human" in English. However, "humanus" also took a trip through Germany and came out the other side as "guma." What English word comes from "guma?"

Answer: bridegroom

The original study of humanities included history, literature, fine arts and philosophy. I absolutely love the multiple connotations of the word "human." It can mean both a creature at the height of evolutionary intelligence ("the glory of humanity") or a creature that is inherently flawed ("you're only human").
11. Literature: When the word "literature" reached the English language in the late 1300s, it replaced an Old English word that had been used for the same purpose. Which word do you suppose they were using beforehand?

Answer: boccraeft ("book learning")

"Literature" was introduced as a word meaning book learning, as opposed to learning by rhetoric or by indenture. The first recorded use of the word with its current definition is in Samuel Johnson's "Lives of the English Poets" from 1779.
12. Movies: It took 106 years for the Italian term "influenza" (1743) to become "the flu" in 1849. In contrast, it took only 3 years for the term "omnibus" (1829) to get shortened to "bus" (1832). How long did it take for people to abbreviate "moving pictures" to "movies?"

Answer: 12-16 years

The term "moving picture" hit the scene in 1896. "Movies" first appeared in common usage between 1908 and 1912.
13. Music: True or False: The word "music" is an eponym from Musymia, the Greek goddess of song.

Answer: False

"Music" certainly has Greek origins - in the nine goddesses of the arts, called the Muses. The original term was "mousikos," referring to all 9 muses as a group. It filtered through the French to become "musique," and from there over to English. The actual Greek muse of music was named Euterpe.
14. People: Much like "literature," the word "people" came from France and eventually surpassed a synonymous Old English word in popularity. However, in this case the old word was not completely removed from our modern vocabulary. What was the old word? (Hint: it came from Norway.)

Answer: Folk

"Plebeian" is a Latin word, referring to the common people. "Peasant," meaning fellow countryman, derives from the French "pays," meaning country. "Guy" didn't arrive in the English language until the early 19th century.
15. Religion: The source of the word "religion" is disputed depending on which source you consult. The most common current theory is that it comes to us from "religare," from which we also get the words "rely" and "ligament." What do you suppose "religare" meant in Latin?

Answer: To fasten

Cicero wrote that it derives from "relegare," meaning "to read again." Another view supposes that it comes from "religiens," meaning "careful." It's quite fitting that we just don't know where the word "Religion" really comes from.
16. Science & Technology: True or false: The words "science" and "technology" both come from Greek words that meant "to cut."

Answer: False

"Science" comes from the Latin word "scire," meaning "to know." The Greek word "tekhno," which gave us "technology," referred to grammar. A "technology" was originally an essay about any specific area of study.
17. Sports: The word "sport" comes to us from the French word "desporter." Knowing this, which English usage do you suppose came first? (Hint: A current French synonym might be "amuser.")

Answer: Verb, to entertain oneself

"Desporter" is a French verb meaning to divert or play. It traveled across the Channel with the same meaning around 1400. Its usage as noun meaning a game or pastime came later, around 1440.
18. Television: When scientists were discussing the possibilities of TV back in the 19th century, two other words were suggested to describe the idea. One of the terms was "telephote." What was the other also-ran word?

Answer: Televista

The word "television," from 1907, actually predates the word "movies," even though the technologies were invented in the opposite order.
19. Video Games: True or false: The words "video" and "game" are both among the oldest words in the English language, both dating back to before the year 1000 CE.

Answer: False

While "game" does indeed date back in Old English to before the year 1000 CE, the word "video" is the baby of the words used in the FunTrivia category list. It did not appear as a standalone word until 1935. "Video games" first appeared as a phrase in 1973.
20. World: The word "world", in its original Old English definition, referred to the age of mankind and the human condition. It was a compound word, consisting of "wer" for man and "ald" for age. What other word uses the root "wer"?

Answer: Werewolf

Variants of "World" can be found in Old Saxon, Old Friesian, Old German and Old Norse. It is the oldest word in the list, dating back to before 900 CE.
Source: Author kscleaves

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
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3/29/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us