Expand Your Vocabulary! Trivia Quiz

Answer: an ecclesiastical skullcap

Zucchetto describes a small, round skullcap worn by members of the Roman Catholic clergy. Its colour depends on the rank of the wearer: black for a priest, purple for a bishop, red for a cardinal and white for the Pope. First attested in 1853, the word is a diminutive form of "zucca", the Italian word for gourd, which is also used colloquially to mean head.

The name zucchini given in the US to the green summer squash known in the UK as courgette is also a diminutive form of "zucca", as is zuccotto - a delectable dessert from Florence with a characteristic domed shape. The musical instrument - also a word of Italian origin - is a zufolo, a kind of small fipple flute.

Answer: casual and carefree

The adjective blithe means showing a kind of carefree, somewhat heedless merriment. This word of Old English origin famously appears in the title of the play "Blithe Spirit" (1941) by British playwright Noël Coward, in which a man's second marriage is disrupted by the ghost of his first wife. Blithe was first recorded in English in the 12th century; the noun bliss (perfect happiness), one of the three wrong options, is related to it, as both words come from a Proto-Germanic root meaning gentle or kind.

Narrow-minded corresponds to blinkered, while ostentatious jewelry is the definition of bling, a relatively recent entry in the English vocabulary (1999).

Answer: a hooped framework for expanding a skirt

The ancestor of the crinoline, a farthingale was a conical undergarment worn by women in the 16th century to expand a skirt at the hipline, creating a bell-like shape - as shown in portraits of Queen Elizabeth I and other court ladies. The name of this undergarment comes from Old Spanish "verdugado" through Middle French "verdugale". The Spanish word comes in turn from "verdugo", meaning young shoot of a tree and related to "verde" (green). The word was first recorded in English in the 1550s.

The former British coin is a farthing, which despite appearances bears no relation to farthingale, being instead related to the number four. A litter of young pigs is a farrow, and a confused mix of things is a farrago.

Answer: a sudden attack or raid

Foray is a term of military origin that denotes an incursion in enemy territory. It is also used figuratively to refer to an initial attempt to branch out into a different field of activity. First recorded in the 14th century and of likely Scottish origin, foray is believed to be related to forage, one of the three wrong answers (food for animals): in fact, both words have their roots in Anglo-French "fuerre", meaning fodder or straw.

An instrument used for grasping is a forceps, while the Hungarian currency unit is the forint.

Answer: detest greatly

First recorded in the 1530s, execrate is a rather high-register verb that means to hate or detest utterly. As is the case with most words beginning in "ex- ", it is of Latin origin, derived from "exsecratus", the past participle of the verb "exsecrari", meaning to put under a curse. This verb in turn comes from "sacer" (holy), the root of words such as sacrifice or sacrilege. Execrate is also used in the meaning of denounce or declare something to be evil, which is closer to the original.

The three wrong options are also words of Latin origin formed with the prefix "ex-". Clear from blame corresponds to exonerate, eliminate from the body is excrete, and criticize scathingly is excoriate.

Answer: short and succinct

Laconic is an adjective that describes a way of expressing oneself with very few words - sometimes coming across as rude or secretive. Interestingly, it is related to the adjective spartan, as the ancient Greek city of Sparta was the capital of the region of Laconia. The original Greek word "lakonikos" simply referred to somebody from that region. Spartan society was known for its strict discipline, which also affected their manner of speech - concise and to the point. Laconic was first recorded in English in the late 16th century.

Dull and mediocre is the definition of lacklustre, while living in lakes and relating to milk correspond to lacustrine and lactic.

Answer: diligent and persevering

The adjective assiduous describes someone or something marked by greater than average attention and effort. As pointed out in the Merriam-Webster dictionary entry, this word often suggests not only extra care in dealing with things, but also a persistent attitude. First attested in the mid-16th century, assiduous comes from the Latin "assiduus", derived from the verb "assidere" (to sit beside); it originally meant settled in place or constantly present. In the 18th century this word acquired the pejorative connotation of fawning or servile, which has since fallen out of use.

The three definitions listed as wrong answers also correspond to adjectives beginning with A and ending with "-ous": aqueous (resembling water), atrocious (utterly appalling) and arduous (hard to achieve).

Answer: a large triangular sail

A spinnaker is a large, triangular sail set on a long pole that is used when running before the wind. Usually made of nylon or other lightweight material and brightly coloured, it is attached at only three points to give the impression of flying. The etymology of spinnaker is uncertain: while some believe the word may be a mispronunciation of "Sphinx" (the name of the first boat to fly a spinnaker in 1865, the year before the word was first recorded), others maintain it may be derived from "spin maker".

The three wrong answers are definitions of spinet (a small piano or harpsichord), spinel (a mineral used as a gemstone, often mistaken for a ruby) and spinneret (the spinning organ of a spider).

Answer: a swirling mass of water or air

A vortex (pl. vortices or vortexes) is a rapidly swirling mass of fluid or air - thus synonymous with eddy or whirlpool. People who follow weather-related news will be familiar with the phrase "polar vortex", denoting a region of cold, rotating air that encircles both of Earth's polar regions. This noun of direct Latin origin, first attested in English in the mid-17th century, is derived from the verb "vertere" (to turn). It is thus related to the almost identical word vertex, one of the three wrong options, denoting the point opposite to the base in a figure or the highest point of a structure.

The remaining wrong answers correspond to votary (a devoted admirer) and vomer (a small facial bone that forms part of the nasal septum).

Answer: a symbol on a stave of a musical score

A clef is a symbol placed at the beginning of a musical staff to indicate the pitch of the notes to be played. The most common and easily recognizable is the treble or violin clef, which indicates higher-pitched notes. The word, first attested in the 1570s, comes directly from Old French, where it meant key ("clé" in modern French); it is derived from Latin "clavis" (key), which is also the origin of the word clavicle (collarbone).

An opening made by splitting is the definition of cleft, a world nearly identical in spelling and pronunciation to clef, but completely unrelated. A blood-sucking insect is a clegg, while a small spike or stud (usually found at the bottom of a shoe) is a cleat.