Language Origins Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 24
What straw-filled objects mentioned in Exodus is the word 'adobe' derived from?
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bricks
What is the name of the JEOPARDY! category that means 'rotten pot' in French?
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potpourri
What word, originally derived from 'casa' meaning 'little house', now commonly refers to a gambling establishment?
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casino
What is a building where college students sleep that comes from the Latin word meaning 'to sleep'?
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dormitory
What Hebrew word meaning 'my master' is the origin of Reb, the Yiddish term for Mr.?
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rabbi
What announcement of a person's death derives from the Latin word for 'death'?
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obituary
What is a 7-letter word that comes from the Latin for 'soldier' and describes a citizen army activated during emergencies?
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militia
What English word for a dried fruit is derived from the French word that means 'plum'?
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prune
In which ancient language of India does 'mouse' mean 'thief'?
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sanskrit
From which language do the words alcohol, alfalfa, and algebra originate, where 'al' means 'the'?
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arabic
What word, derived from Latin for 'cookery', refers to the distinctive style or method of preparing food?
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cuisine
According to the Venerable Bede, to which season does the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre pertain?
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spring
According to the OED, from which historical language does the word 'word' originate?
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old english
What term is derived from the Greek words for 'the meaning of a word from its origin' and 'word'?
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etymology
In German and Dutch, what natural formation does the word 'berg' in 'iceberg' refer to?
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mountain
What familiar phrase meaning 'dressed to perfection' may originate from 'dressed to then eyne,' which means 'to the eyes'?
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nines
Which Olympic weapon's name may originate from the Welsh word gaflach, meaning 'forked branch'?
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javelin
What term, originating from the Italian word for 'chatter', describes a person who falsely claims to have certain knowledge or skills?
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charlatan
What activity does the Late Latin word 'ballare', from which 'ballad' is derived, mean to do?
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dance
In Hebrew, Bethlehem's name means 'House of' what staple?
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bread
What is the name of the language that originated between the 9th and 12th centuries in southwestern Germany and means 'Jewish'?
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yiddish
The word 'coffee' is derived from the word 'qahwah', which means 'wine' in which language?
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arabic
What word, derived from Greek meaning good or easy death, is associated with assisted dying?
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euthanasia
Which language has been borrowed for all the words in Webster's Collegiate Dictionary that begin with 'sht'?
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yiddish
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