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Roman History Vocabulary

Based on the definitions, and the first letter, guess these words from Roman History.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: August 29, 2015
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First submittedNovember 28, 2012
Times taken50,998
Average score60.0%
Rating4.37
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Definition
 
Word
Arena combatant
G
Gladiator
Highest body of
elected representatives
S
Senate
Market square of a Roman City
F
Forum
Open-air venue with tiered seating
A
Amphitheater
Channel or bridge used
to convey water
A
Aqueduct
Roman aristocrat
P
Patrician
Roman common person
P
Plebeian
Formal robe, worn wrapped
around the body
T
Toga
One of two co-leaders of the
Roman Republic
C
Consul
Unit of about 5,000 soldiers
L
Legion
Definition
 
Word
Commander of 60-80 soldiers
(not actually 100)
C
Centurion
Leadership of three men
T
Triumvirate
Official in charge of keeping
public morals
C
Censor
Official who represented the
common people
T
Tribune
Execution on the cross
C
Crucifixion
Uncivilized tribesman
B
Barbarian
Temple dedicated to
the worship of all gods
P
Pantheon
Middle of the month
I
Ides
Wild revelry for the god of wine
B
Bacchanalia
High priest
P
Pontiff
+5
Level 67
Nov 27, 2012
I had thought that this quiz would focus on words derived from Latin roots. If so, then amphitheater is out of place and arena would be a better choice. Or at least an alternative. Also I think it would be reasonable to allow pontifex as well as pontiff and bacchanal as well as bacchanalia.
+3
Level ∞
Nov 28, 2012
Pontifex and Bacchanal will work now.
+2
Level 79
Jan 4, 2021
I guess 'pope' will not be accepted?
+3
Level 60
Jan 4, 2021
"Pope" isn't one of the formal titles - the Latin "Pontifex Maximus" is though!
+7
Level 75
Jan 31, 2017
Arena is all I could think of but after researching it, it appears that the definition of arena in Roman times was the area of the amphitheater where the action took place and did not include the seats. I bow to QM once again.
+3
Level 66
Sep 27, 2019
So in english arena is always used for the whole thing? I still know it as the place where action takes place (similar to the ring for boxing) and thought I had that mainly from english (because I am more exposed to that language than my own, all book I read is english, all tv I watch is english and well things on the internet usually are aswell). But apparently not (there is one exception in my language though, we have a venue by that name (soccer stadium, also used for concerts), and in that case it obviously refers to the whole thing
+3
Level 66
Sep 27, 2019
Amphitheather btw means theatre on both sides. It was round with seating all around so the spectacle could be seen from all sides.

Theater comes from viewing btw, just like spectacle comes from seeing (spectator)

+2
Level 60
Aug 27, 2020
A theatre is a D-shaped structure with tiered seating. An amphitheatre, as the Greek or Latin both imply, is a 'both' sides, in other words an O-shaped structure, with the two Ds back to back, so to speak. It's that simple.
+5
Level 68
Jan 31, 2017
Arena means sand, not the venue.
+1
Level 69
Feb 8, 2017
"arena" is an alternative form of "harena"

Noun[edit]

harēna f (genitive harēnae); first declension

sand

arena (venue for spectacles)

- Wiktionary

+1
Level 54
Apr 27, 2017
It's a quiz of Roman terms, not a Spanish test.
+4
Level 77
Oct 18, 2017
That is LATIN ya dingus
+2
Level 74
Dec 29, 2012
I think both amphitheater and arena work for the given clue. Both have tiered seating, and both can be open-air venues. I guessed arena first and then guessed amphitheater. Got them all except censor. Good quiz.
+2
Level 90
Dec 29, 2012
Agreed. And Also Auditorium. Ain't Alliteration Amusing?
+5
Level 81
Jan 10, 2013
Actually, it's assonance.
+8
Level 92
Apr 23, 2013
Another asinine argument, as assonance and alliteration are actually apart from their assumed applications.

The above is neither as alliterative nor as assonant as some will claim, as the sounds made by the repeated a's do not consistently match. Alliteration is difficult with vowels, and assonance is much more common in the main vowels in a word (think 'the rain in spain').

Man I'm a nerd.

+1
Level 35
Feb 13, 2014
Nerd pawah
+1
Level 35
Jun 27, 2014
lol
+4
Level 88
Jul 17, 2018
Platitude with attitude.
+2
Level 79
Jan 4, 2021
I tried both arena and auditorium.
+1
Level 66
Aug 14, 2023
How about Atrium?
+1
Level 74
Sep 17, 2013
Without putting words in Balti's mouth, perhaps he meant that 'amphitheater' is a word derived from Greek, not Latin? The Latin equivalent would be 'Arena'.
+1
Level 56
Jul 21, 2015
I wouldn't really call "arena" the Latin equivalent to "amphitheater," considering "arena" really means "sand."
+1
Level 69
Jul 10, 2016
Plus, it's not exactly a secret that the Romans borrowed from the Greeks, is it?
+1
Level 66
Sep 27, 2019
arena does not have seating, it is where the fights took place (arena actually came from the word sand, which was there to soak up the blood from the fights)
+1
Level 33
Dec 29, 2012
Great quiz! Didn't do as well as I should've done though. Dang it!
+2
Level 24
Dec 29, 2012
Missed crucifixion, couldn't spell it right. 19/20 WOOT!
+2
Level 74
Sep 25, 2014
Crucifixion? Out of the door, line on the left, one cross each...
+1
Level 66
Jul 19, 2015
Always look on the bright side of life!
+1
Level 45
Dec 29, 2012
Got 20/20, but had to think for a while about some of them. Good quiz.
+2
Level 35
Dec 30, 2012
8.
+3
Level 65
Jul 19, 2015
I wonder how many of these I would have missed if I hadn't seriously two minutes ago finished reading Coriolanus. Yay for Shakespeare.
+1
Level 57
Jan 3, 2021
Historia Civilis saved me on a lot of these
+1
Level 49
Jul 20, 2015
"Roman aristrocrat" is spelled incorrectly.
+1
Level ∞
Jul 21, 2015
Fixed the typo
+1
Level 66
Mar 11, 2016
You should accept 'Crucifiction' as well I think
+4
Level 36
Mar 8, 2018
But that's not the correct spelling, so it's incorrect.
+1
Level 68
Aug 8, 2016
Senators were not elected and censor was something else. He was responsible for census which was done every 4 years. Census was basis for taxation, however if a Roman citizen broke a law, he could confiscate all of his belongings (which was sometimes connected with public morals, but more often it was politically motivated)
+3
Level 61
Feb 14, 2020
The census wasn't the only thing a censor was responsible for. The question is correct.
+1
Level 82
Aug 9, 2016
Interesting how almost two thirds get 'plebeian' whilst barely a third get 'patrician'. I would have thought those two were a set - if you know one, you know the other.
+2
Level 66
Sep 27, 2019
I could only think of proletarian and praetor(ian) (and a mix of those hah, both my spelling and definition was foggy)

edit: to be honest patrician really doesnt ring a bell, ok I was 13 when we got taught about plebs, but I almost feel like somehow we skipped the word in this quiz, cause no recognition whatsoever ( well there is but not from school time, just the obvious root the word has)

+1
Level 71
Jan 3, 2021
I think "plebian" has re-entered modern slang as the word "pleb," which might be why people recognize it. It's generally a more commonly used word today than "patrician"
+1
Level 67
Jan 3, 2021
That was a forehead slap for me. I got "plebeian" right away, but all I could think of for the other was "proletarian." I use the word "patrician" all the time too. One of my favorite adjectives.
+2
Level 65
Apr 27, 2017
Got them all but Gladiator! How is this even posible?
+1
Level 88
Jul 17, 2018
Not much of a gamer.
+1
Level 57
Jan 3, 2021
Or a Russell Crowe fan
+3
Level 77
Jul 13, 2017
Not Pontiff, Pontifex Maximus
+1
Level 33
Apr 21, 2021
Pontiff is just the English term for the Pontifex Maximus, though. A bit old-fashioned to use pontiff in that sense, but still English. If you mean it should also accept pontifex (maximus) and doesn't, then I agree.
+1
Level 37
Nov 11, 2018
So Pontius is a given name, not a title?
+1
Level 67
Jan 3, 2021
I suppose it makes sense. I always wondered why he is like the only person in the Bible with a last name. Mary Magdalene too, but I assume that is to differentiate her from the Virgin Mary.
+1
Level 68
Apr 16, 2020
Please accept Senator.
+1
Level 33
Apr 21, 2021
He says the body, though, not the members of the body.
+2
Level 54
Nov 14, 2020
A Roman senator was not elected.
+1
Level 71
Jan 3, 2021
You're mostly right, not all of them were life-long members, but some became senators through election to consul or other similar positions.

Then again, it depends whether we're talking of the Kingdom's Senate, the Republican Senate or the Imperial Senate...

+2
Level 74
Jan 3, 2021
Damn I'm too dumb to write crucifixion, I wrote crucifiction, which in retrospect sounds like a term for christian literature XD.
+1
Level 67
Jan 3, 2021
I spelled it "crucifiction" once in high school, and my teacher (a Marianist brother) chastised me, "There is nothing fictional about it!" Never forgot how to spell it again.
+1
Level 79
Jan 4, 2021
I thought it was 'crucification', but still got it by trying 'crucify'.
+1
Level 37
Apr 1, 2021
Personally I'd change Pontiff to Pontifex, but that's a minor gripe. Nice quiz!
+1
Level 33
Apr 21, 2021
I could only think of a triarchy, which is the Greek for the same thing, a triumvirate. Any chance of adding it?
+1
Level 24
Sep 17, 2021
It was the Carthaginians who 'invented' crucifixion, as a punishment for piracy.
+1
Level 47
Oct 6, 2021
Damn, knew it was Bacchus related but did not know Bacchanalia, oh well.
+1
Level 61
Dec 9, 2021
Was furiously trying to think of the Roman equivalent to the American military's "team leader" for "leadership of three men" because it was right under "centurion." Could think of all sorts of random Roman military words like "Hastati" but did not even consider that the question wasn't about the Army
+1
Level 28
Jun 19, 2023
it is ridiculous that actual latin words are not accepted