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Quiz about Word origins
Quiz about Word origins

Word origins Quiz for Experts | English


Find the modern English words from the description of their origins.

A multiple-choice quiz by meshkenet. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
meshkenet
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
252,994
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
696
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Question 1 of 10
1. The origin of this word is unclear, but it is probably an anagram of "magic". Its first meaning is listed as "a piece of a magician's apparatus".

Answer: (one word)
Question 2 of 10
2. In this verb, the notion of "control" comes from the Latin word "frenum" meaning "bridle". It was first recorded in the sense of "to restrain a thought or feeling". Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. This word, referring to a leisurely walk in public, comes from French, as do so many English words. Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. This word for a large mammal, such as an elephant or rhinoceros, comes from Greek roots and relates to the animal's skin type: it translates, litterally, as "thick skinned".

Answer: (One Word)
Question 5 of 10
5. The original sense of this word, probably through Spanish, was "the surgical treatment of fractures". It takes its origins from Arabic: "al-jabr" which means "bone-setting". Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. This acronym used in US postal adresses refers to "zoning improvement plans".

Answer: (One Word)
Question 7 of 10
7. This animal takes its English name from a variant of the Old French expression "chatepelose", literaly "hairy cat", influenced by the verb "piller", meaning "to ravage". Doesn't it sound very dangerous?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 8 of 10
8. This word, a shortening of the Old French "estoffe" (material, furniture) and "estoffer" (to equip, to furnish a garrison), originally referred to the material used in making clothes. Its meaning has broadened to include any material, matter, idea or substance. Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. These short daggers were first made in the town of Bayonne in France, from where they took their name.

Answer: (One word, starts with "B".)
Question 10 of 10
10. This derogatory term meaning "coward, effeminate person" shares roots with the Latin "soror" as well as German "schwester" and Dutch "zuster". Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The origin of this word is unclear, but it is probably an anagram of "magic". Its first meaning is listed as "a piece of a magician's apparatus".

Answer: Gimmick

This word originates from American English.
2. In this verb, the notion of "control" comes from the Latin word "frenum" meaning "bridle". It was first recorded in the sense of "to restrain a thought or feeling".

Answer: to refrain

The verb "to refrain" and the noun "refrain" have different origins: the latter comes, among other sources, from the Old French "refraindre" which means "to break", as the refrain breaks the sequence of a song.
3. This word, referring to a leisurely walk in public, comes from French, as do so many English words.

Answer: Promenade

"Promenade" is one of those words which have kept the same meaning in English as they have in French.
4. This word for a large mammal, such as an elephant or rhinoceros, comes from Greek roots and relates to the animal's skin type: it translates, litterally, as "thick skinned".

Answer: Pachyderm

From the Greek "pakhus" and "derma". "Derma", meaning "skin", is also the Greek root of "dermatologist", a skin doctor.
5. The original sense of this word, probably through Spanish, was "the surgical treatment of fractures". It takes its origins from Arabic: "al-jabr" which means "bone-setting".

Answer: Algebra

Derived from the Arabic "al-jabr" (the reunion of broken parts), this word refers to many high school students' worst nightmare... The mathematical meaning came from the title of a book by the mathematician al-Kwarrizmi: "ilm al-jabr wa'l-mukabala", or "the science of restoring what is missing and equating like with like".
6. This acronym used in US postal adresses refers to "zoning improvement plans".

Answer: Zip

This is a very recent addition to the English languages: zip codes appeared during the 1960s.
7. This animal takes its English name from a variant of the Old French expression "chatepelose", literaly "hairy cat", influenced by the verb "piller", meaning "to ravage". Doesn't it sound very dangerous?

Answer: Caterpillar

Strangely, caterpillars are linguistically linked with cats in a few other languages: Swiss German "Teufelskatz" (devil's cat) and Lombard "gatta" (cat) are two examples.
8. This word, a shortening of the Old French "estoffe" (material, furniture) and "estoffer" (to equip, to furnish a garrison), originally referred to the material used in making clothes. Its meaning has broadened to include any material, matter, idea or substance.

Answer: Stuff

Word meanings can change significantly over time.
9. These short daggers were first made in the town of Bayonne in France, from where they took their name.

Answer: Bayonet

Bayonets were not originally designed to be added to guns: the first ones were made around the 17th century and were simply short daggers.
10. This derogatory term meaning "coward, effeminate person" shares roots with the Latin "soror" as well as German "schwester" and Dutch "zuster".

Answer: Sissy

"Sissy" came from "sister" and was first used to refer to one.
Source: Author meshkenet

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