Statistics for English Word Etymologies

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General Stats

  • This quiz has been taken 286 times
  • The average score is 9 of 15

Answer Stats

RootEtymologyMeaningWord% Correct
? + MareGerman: Evil female spirit who sits on your chest, suffocating youBad dreamsNightmare
88%
Palantine HillEmperor’s residence on this hill of RomeAn opulent residence for a rulerPalace
87%
Kē-chiapChinese Amoy sauce of pickled fish and spices. The recipe changed as it moved around the worldiSpicy sauce made chiefly from tomatoes and vinegarKetchup
86%
Medieval Italian: ‘Bad air’Infectious fever believed to be caused by the bad air around swampsDisease carried by parasite transmitted by mosquitoesMalaria
81%
Italian ‘forty days’During the Black Death ships were put into isolation on islands offshore for this period to attempt to halt the diseaseIsolation to prevent potential health risks to othersQuarantine
77%
4th Earl of ?Playing cards, this Earl requested a slice of meat between two slices of bread so that the cards wouldn’t get greasy while he ateFilling between two slices of breadSandwich
76%
OstrakonAncient Greek: shard of broken pottery used for closed ballot regarding potential exile of someone thought to be becoming too powerful for democracy to thriveExclude from a society or groupOstracise
69%
John Duns ScotusPhilosopher and theologian who died before the Reformation, when his followers were ridiculed for adhering to his teachingsSomeone who can’t learn.Dunce
64%
Admiral’s grogham cloakAdmiral Vernon’s nickname came from this cloak. He decreed that all his sailors should have rum every day, so the drink also got this nickname, as did its effectWeak and unsteady, unable to think clearlyGroggy
52%
Björn serkrOld Norse ‘bear coat’.One who fights with uncontrolled ferocityBerserker
50%
Latin: ‘three roads’Place where people would hang around for idle chatUnimportant informationTrivia
48%
Greek: ‘ball of yarn’Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of yarn to help him find his way out of the labyrinthSomething that points the way to solving a problemClue
39%
Latin: ‘knee’Roman father would hold a newborn child on his knee to confirm paternityAuthentic, truly what it is said to beGenuine
36%
Al-zahr13th century Arabic for the dice used for gambling. Crusaders brought the games homeDanger; risk; chanceHazard
28%
French: ‘Genoa’French word for the town where a twill fabric was invented. A coarser version was made in NimesHeavy cotton twirled materialJean
26%

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