Go, Go, Godzilla Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gorilla

The word gorilla is derived from the Greek work "Gorillai" which means "a tribe of hairy women". The name was first applied to the animal by Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian sailor who visited eastern Africa circa 480 BC.

Answer: Villa

Although the first usage of the English word "villa" was not recorded until 1611, the concept goes back to the large estates of the rich in Roman times. The Latin word "villaticum" (farmstead) is seen as the root of the word, which evolved into the Italian "villa" (country house) from which it was brought into English.

Answer: Villager

"Villager" has much the same root as "villa". It traveled to English by way of the Old French "village" (houses and other buildings in a group). A village is always considered larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a town.

Answer: Pillage

"Pillage" traces its meaning back to the Latin word "pilus" (a hair) which evolved to "pilare" (to strip of hair). The Old French word "pilage" (to plunder) is the direct ancestor of the English "pillage".

Answer: surveillance

The origin of the word "surveillance" can be traced back to the Latin "vigilare" (to watch). In French "sur" (over) was combined with "veiller" (to watch) to make "surveill" (to watch over).

Answer: guerrilla

The root origin of "guerrilla" is the Old High German "werra" (war, strife, conflict). The actual term "guerrilla" came from Spanish for "little war". The term became popular during the Peninsula Wars against Napoleon and was quickly adopted into English.

Answer: bouillabaisse

The origin of the word for the stew originating in the Provencal of France is a lot more complicated than it would seem. The simple explanation is that it is the combination of two words "bolhir" (to boil) and "abaissar" (to reduce heat, simmer). The problem with this is that a bouillabaisse is traditionally made over high heat, not a low heat.

Other explanations are from a pun on to boil the abbess ("bouille-abbesse") or to reduce by evaporation ("bouillon abaisse").

Answer: Spillage

Old English "spillan" (to destroy, mutilate, kill) provides the root of the Modern English spill (and by association spillage). Waste and the shedding of blood impacted the meaning in the 14th century to our current "flowing out of a container wastefully".

Answer: Refillable

The root "fill" traces its origins back to Old English "fyllan" (to fill). In Middle English it became "fillen".

Answer: Oscillating

"Os-" is a Latin root meaning "mouth". "Oscillum" would mean little mouth and by extension little face. A common charm in Roman times would be an open-mouthed mask of Bacchus hung in the vineyard. This gave rise to the Latin "oscillare" (to swing) from which the modern word "oscillating" is derived.