Gimme Sympathy Trivia Quiz

Answer: sympathy

Sympathy (etym. Latin from Greek) - sharing the feelings of others.

"Sympathy for the Devil" is the first track off the Rolling Stones' 1968 album titled Beggars Banquet. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote the song; the lyrics were from the devil's point of view.

Answer: syndactyly

Syndactyly (etym. Greek) - the condition of having two or more fused digits.

Syndactyly is most commonly known as webbed fingers, although it can occur in the toes as well. This condition happens during development in the womb where the digits do not completely separate. There are varying degrees of syndactyly: Incomplete Simple Syndactyly (where only a web of skin separates the digits), Complete Simple Syndactyly (where the digits are joined to the tips but have separate bones), and Complete Complex Syndactyly (where adjacent digits are completely joined with the bones being fused).

Answer: symmetry

Symmetry (etym. Greek) - an exact matching of form and arrangement of parts on opposite sides of a boundary, such as a plane or line, or around a central point or axis.

Beauty and harmony are often associated with symmetry -- a colourful butterfly, a sea star, snowflakes, flowers, and even in music and language. The human body is also a good example of bilateral symmetry. Studies have also shown that people rated as more attractive have more symmetrical facial features.

Answer: syllabary

Syllabary (etym. New Latin from Latin) - a list of characters representing syllables and serving the purpose, in some languages or stages of writing, of an alphabet.

Japanese is one of several languages that use syllabic writing. The two kana systems, Hiragana and Katakana, are comprised of many syllables with consonants followed by vowels (ma, mi, mu, me, mo etc.). This makes using a syllabary very practical.

Answer: systole

Systole (etym. Greek) - the time period when the heart is contracting, specifically when the left ventricle contracts.

In a typical heart transplant a donor heart is injected with potassium chloride to stop it beating. It is removed from the donor's body and preserved in ice before being transplanted into the recipient's body. It may or may not need electrical stimulation to get it beating again. In 2006, a new procedure was developed in Germany where a beating heart, kept at body temperature, was successfully transplanted into a patient.

Answer: syzygy

Syzygy (etym. Late Latin from Greek) - 1) the nearly straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies (as the sun, moon, and earth) in a gravitational system. 2) the combining of two feet into a single metrical unit in classical verse poetry. 3) the aggregation in a mass of certain protozoa, especially when occurring before sexual reproduction.

In the game of Scrabble, the word syzygy would be worth 21 points before any letter or word bonuses. A blank tile would have to be used for one of the Y's because Scrabble sets only have two Y tiles.

Answer: symbology

Symbology (etym. Greek) - the use, study, or interpretation of symbols.

Robert Langdon is a fictional professor of religious iconology and symbology at Harvard University. He is the protagonist in the novels "Angels and Demons", "The Da Vinci Code" and "The Lost Symbol". As of 2009, he is portrayed by actor Tom Hanks in the movies based on the novels "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons".

Answer: synergy

Synergy (etym. Greek) - the interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.

Synergy occurs everywhere in life. Examples include things like antagonistic muscles working together to create smooth movement or two people helping each other achieve something they could not do individually. Two medications taken together can work more efficiently than taken separately. Corporate synergy occurs when one company merges or acquires another to create a financial benefit from increased revenue and or cost reduction.

Answer: synonymy

Synonymy (etym. Latin from Ancient Greek) - 1) the semantic relation that holds between two words that can, in a given context, express the same meaning. 2) a list, book, or system of synonyms.

The answer to this question refers to a book of synonyms.

American philosopher and logician W.V.O. Quine tried to clear up confusion surrounding the concept of synonymy, as many linguists don't believe true or complete synonymy exists. He defined complete synonymy (where two words have identical meaning components), and partial synonymy (where two words share most of the necessary components or constituents but suggest slight differences in certain contexts). Although according to Quine, complete synonymy does not exist.

Answer: synchronicity

Synchronicity (etym. Greek) - 1) the state or fact of occurring or existing at precisely the same time. 2) an apparently meaningful coincidence in time of two or more similar or identical events that are causally unrelated (coined by Carl Jung).

Synchronicity was an album released by the Police in 1983. It was the band's final and most successful album. It spawned the hits, "Every Breath You Take", "King of Pain", "Synchronicity II" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger".



Word definitions were taken from the following references:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com
http://www.merriam-webster.com
http://www.answers.com
http://www.etymonline.com