Root | Etymology | Meaning | Word | % Correct |
---|---|---|---|---|
? + Mare | German: Evil female spirit who sits on your chest, suffocating you | Bad dreams | Nightmare | 88%
|
Palantine Hill | Emperor’s residence on this hill of Rome | An opulent residence for a ruler | Palace | 87%
|
Kē-chiap | Chinese Amoy sauce of pickled fish and spices. The recipe changed as it moved around the worldi | Spicy sauce made chiefly from tomatoes and vinegar | Ketchup | 86%
|
Medieval Italian: ‘Bad air’ | Infectious fever believed to be caused by the bad air around swamps | Disease carried by parasite transmitted by mosquitoes | Malaria | 81%
|
Italian ‘forty days’ | During the Black Death ships were put into isolation on islands offshore for this period to attempt to halt the disease | Isolation to prevent potential health risks to others | Quarantine | 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 ate | Filling between two slices of bread | Sandwich | 76%
|
Ostrakon | Ancient Greek: shard of broken pottery used for closed ballot regarding potential exile of someone thought to be becoming too powerful for democracy to thrive | Exclude from a society or group | Ostracise | 69%
|
John Duns Scotus | Philosopher and theologian who died before the Reformation, when his followers were ridiculed for adhering to his teachings | Someone who can’t learn. | Dunce | 64%
|
Admiral’s grogham cloak | Admiral 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 effect | Weak and unsteady, unable to think clearly | Groggy | 52%
|
Björn serkr | Old Norse ‘bear coat’. | One who fights with uncontrolled ferocity | Berserker | 50%
|
Latin: ‘three roads’ | Place where people would hang around for idle chat | Unimportant information | Trivia | 48%
|
Greek: ‘ball of yarn’ | Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of yarn to help him find his way out of the labyrinth | Something that points the way to solving a problem | Clue | 39%
|
Latin: ‘knee’ | Roman father would hold a newborn child on his knee to confirm paternity | Authentic, truly what it is said to be | Genuine | 36%
|
Al-zahr | 13th century Arabic for the dice used for gambling. Crusaders brought the games home | Danger; risk; chance | Hazard | 28%
|
French: ‘Genoa’ | French word for the town where a twill fabric was invented. A coarser version was made in Nimes | Heavy cotton twirled material | Jean | 26%
|
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