Borrowed Words and Phrases Trivia

31. The word 'kowtow', which implies obsequiousness in English, comes to us from the Chinese word combination 'koutou' or 'ketou'...both of which literally mean what?

From Quiz Borrowed English Words from Chinese

Answer: Bump head

Traditionally, as a sign of respect to a person of superior social position to oneself, a person would get on their knees and bend their body until their head literally bumped or knocked the floor. This term seems to have taken life in the English language, but is used in an extremely derogatory manner. In traditional China it was a sign of utmost respect.

From Quiz English Borrowings

Answer: Finnish

The origin of a name is often also where the things come from..

From Quiz Its All Greek To Me

Answer: brain

Bladder infection might be called urocystitis; skin infection might be dermatitis and nephritis stands for kidney disease.

From Quiz Foreigners in the English Language

Answer: coleslaw& cole slaw

Dutch kool is also related to English kale.

From Quiz German Words in English

Answer: substitute

In English 'ersatz' can be used as a noun or an adjective.

From Quiz Foreign Words That Have Crossed Over

Answer: Spirit of the time

'Spirit of the time' is a literal translation.

From Quiz Oy! Yiddish!

Answer: a four-sided top

Dreidels are the most popular Hanukkah toys ever, yet!

From Quiz Somewhere in Africa...

Answer: raffia

Raffia palms are native to tropical regions of Africa, especially the island country of Madagascar. The strong fiber produced from their leaf fronds is used for a variety of purposes, and is particularly important in tree grafting. According to some sources, the name of the genus (Raphia) comes from the Greek "raphis", meaning needle. However, for the majority of sources the origin of the plants' and the fiber's name lies in the Malagasy word "rafia" or "rofia". In its modern form "raffia", the word was first attested in the 1860s. Malagasy is the language spoken by the vast majority of the population of Madagascar. It is an outlier among the languages of Africa, as it is related to Malay and the languages spoken in the Philippines. The word "jute" comes from Bengali, while "hemp" is of Germanic origin, and "sisal" is the name of a port in the Yucatán Peninsula. LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew skillfully wove this question into the quiz.

From Quiz Eating Our Words-Chinese Style

Answer: Char Siu

Traditionally, char siu is slowly roasted while suspended on forks, hence the name. Strips of sliced pork are marinated in a barbecue sauce that includes five spice powder and red coloring, originally from fermented red bean paste. The term has been transliterated into Japanese as 'chashu' and is frequently offered in ramen. In many Southeast Asian countries, rice with barbecued pork is available as char siew rice. In the Philippines, it is often called 'cha siu'. Hawaiians use the term mostly to refer to the style of cooking, whatever protein source is used. Player pusdoc wrote this question for Phoenix Rising while roasting down in Texas, dreaming of a char siu barbecue joint.

From Quiz More Loanwords from Chinese

Answer: Paper tiger

Paper tiger is derived from the literal meaning of the Chinese pinyin "zhilaohu". "Zhi" is paper and "laohu" is tiger. Chairman Mao often used this term to criticize his political opponents, especially the United States. Tiger is considered the most powerful animal in China. In ancient China, there were "the 5 Tiger Generals" referring the five top generals of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms Period.

From Quiz Venetian Vocabulary

Answer: Ciao

Ciao is commonly used as a casual greeting, along the lines of "Hi!". The word 's-ciao' meant servant or slave in Venetian and the greeting was used to mean 'at your service'. Eventually it was absorbed into Italian as a form of greeting, from where it came to English.

From Quiz Borrowed English Words from Malay

Answer: Agar

The word "agar" is borrowed from the Malay word "agar-agar", which is the name given to red algae. Nutrients are often added to agar in agar plates, or Petri dishes, to culture microorganisms.

From Quiz Loanwords from Chinese

Answer: Dim sum

In Chinese Pinyin, it is pronounced as "dian-xin". "Dian" means "small" and "xin" means "delight" or "touch the heart". Dim sum is very popular in Hong Kong, Guangdong province, Singapore, and Malaysia. Most Chinese like to eat dim sum in the late morning with Chinese tea. There are many varieties such as steamed sausage rolls, steamed soup dumplings, sticky rice in lotus leaf, steamed and baked pork buns, pan fried turnip cakes, and others.

From Quiz Speaking Italian: in English

Answer: Belvedere

In architecture, a belvedere refers to any structure built to provide a viewing point to appreciate the beauty of the scenery. It will often be sited high up, to give the best view of the surroundings, but this is not essential. The derivation of the word is 'bello', meaning beautiful, and 'vedere', meaning view. The other words also come from Italian. A cupola is a small dome, which could even be a belvedere in its own right, usually located at the top of another building. A pergola usually refers to a garden structure designed to allow plants to grow over it and a loggia is an open gallery, normally located on the upper floor of a building.

From Quiz Take Me To Your Lieder!

Answer: French

The word "restaurant" derives from the French verb "restaurer", which means "to restore". Modern restaurants originated in 18th century France and became widespread when many chefs who had worked for the nobility lost their jobs in the French Revolution and resorted to opening their own eating establishments.

From Quiz The Long Journey to English

Answer: Mosquito

This word made its way from the Latin to the Portuguese to the Spanish, before landing on the English doorstep. It originated as the Latin "musca" (meaning fly) into the Portuguese "mosca" (same meaning) and then to the Spanish "Mosquito" before buzzing over to the English in the late 16th century. Mosquitoes are extremely irritating creatures whose bite can, at the same time as drawing blood, and making us scratch like mad, introduce some very dangerous diseases into the human blood stream.

From Quiz Yiddish in American English

Answer: nosh

"Nosh" comes to Yiddish from a German word that means to eat on the sly. You can have a quick nosh instead of a full meal, or sneak something small into the movie theater to nosh during the film, but if you plan to stuff yourself at a big meal, "fress" is the word you want. "Munch" and "morsel" are not Yiddish words.

From Quiz Beg, Borrow or Steal

Answer: Portuguese

These three animal names all come directly from Portuguese. Albatross is an alteration from "albatroz", while dodo comes from the Portuguese "doudo", meaning "stupid" or "crazy". Cobra is short for the Portuguese "cobra-de-capelo", meaning "snake with a hood". There are, of course, plenty of English words borrowed from Spanish and Italian, and a handful (the most common of which is "barracks") from Catalan.

From Quiz English from Australian Aboriginal Words

Answer: Billabong

'Billabong' appears to have been derived from the Wiradjuri people of southern New South Wales and means the river that runs only after rain. In this region, and many other parts of Australia, inland rivers often dry up to isolated water holes during summer or extended drought. The billabong, the residual pool, is therefore an incredibly valuable resource for both the people and the local fauna. River bends tend to form deeper holes due to the hydraulic action of the water on the bed sediments. Hence, when the river channel meanders across the floodplain over a long period of time (and usually during very high flow events), it can 'short circuit' large bends providing a more rapid means for water to get downstream. These residual deep holes are only reconnected to the river during high water. It is tempting to think that, in 'Waltzing Matilda', the reason the jolly swagman leapt into the billabong (and drowned) was that this was the only water in a harsh environment. Perhaps it was the lack of natural foods that caused him to steal the sheep in the first place!

From Quiz Schadenfreude!

Answer: The feeling of happiness for the misery of another person.

The correct English definition, according to the "Merriam-Webster Dictionary" is: "SCHADENFREUDE: enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others".

From Quiz Parlez-Vous Inglés, Mein Herr?

Answer: Dutch

Booze is a Dutch word. Actually, it comes from the old Middle Dutch "busen", meaning to drink in excess.

From Quiz Native American Contribution to English

Answer: hurricane

The word hurricane comes to the English language from Taino, an Arawak language, and translates as "storm". I have also heard Mexican tour guides describing this term as deriving from the name of a god. Indeed, Hurakan is the god of wind, storm and fire in Mayan.

From Quiz Latin in the Modern World

Answer: To infinity

An example of something that goes on "ad infinitum" is the set of whole numbers.

From Quiz Excuse My French

Answer: Voyeur

The literal meaning of 'voyeur' in French is 'one who sees'; it is derived from the verb 'voir', which means 'to see'. A voyeur is one who observes people without their knowledge, usually in an intimate context. Another word for a voyeur might be a 'peeping Tom', but the latter term is typically used in a less deviant context. In psychology, voyeurism is included in the DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders, volume four) and is classified as a sexually deviant disorder in the ICD-10 (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, tenth revision).

From Quiz What Does My French Quote Mean?

Answer: An aid to help memory

The expression means those notes or quick comments that have been jotted down in a notebook, which are then used, when referring back to the notes at a later date, to refresh the memory of an entire episode, speech, or something that has taken place. Though it had been used in France for many years previously, it was first used in English in G. Lewis's work "Aide-Mémoire to the Military Sciences" which was written in 1846.

From Quiz What Does My Latin Quote Mean?

Answer: Lamb of God

This term referred to Jesus Christ and the sacrifice of his life that he made for all mankind, as per various Christian church teachings. Early sacrifices of the Israelites and Hebrews usually entailed sacrificing an animal as an offering to the Lord. A lamb was the little creature usually used for this purpose because it represented innocence without stain. Christians believe that Jesus Christ, in his perfect innocence, came to earth to sacrifice his own blood as an expiation of sin for all mankind, thus negating the need for any further poor little animals to be so sacrificed.

From Quiz Where in the World...

Answer: India

Jodhpur riding trousers were named after the town of Jodhpur in India.

From Quiz Foreign Words in English

Answer: Serbian

English has adopted the word "vampire" via another Western European language, but the original source is Serbian word "vampir". Serbian is a southern Slavic language.

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Last Updated Apr 22 2024 10:59 AM

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