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Etymology Trivia
Discover mind-blowing word origins that will shock your vocabulary! From Japanese karaoke to Arabic coffee - uncover the fascinating linguistic secrets behind everyday words that will amaze you with their incredible history.
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Questions (118 of 118)
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The term boycott entered English in 1880 after a campaign against which Irish land agent?
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The word tsunami replaced tidal wave in scientific contexts because it is more accurate. Which year did the word appear in major English dictionaries?
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The word tyrant comes from Greek tyrannos perhaps of Anatolian origin. Which exact Lydian royal name is proposed as a cognate?
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The word bungalow in English was adapted from a term meaning Bengal style house in which language?
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What is the original language of the word karaoke meaning empty orchestra?
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The word kamikaze entered English during World War Two. What is its literal meaning?
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The term tuxedo was linked to the autumn ball of 1886. Which exact socialite is credited with introducing the short dinner jacket that season?
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The word quarantine inspired quarantine island names. Which Adriatic city had the lazaretto on Lokrum in the fifteenth century?
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The English word pajama entered via colonial India from which original Persian term?
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The word kamikaze references a storm that saved Japan from invasion. Which year saw the second Mongol fleet wrecked?
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Which ancient language gave us the word democracy meaning rule by the people?
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The word ketchup has an origin connected to a sauce from which language family?
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The term quarantine shifted from maritime to disease control for people after which exact London year of plague?
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The word jeans comes from the French name for a city. Which city supplied the cloth?
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The word sushi in English describes a dish whose name means what in Japanese?
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The word quarantine had a precursor trentino meaning thirty days in some statutes. Which port s regulation used trentino in 1377?
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The word shampoo came into English through Hindi but ultimately traces to which Sanskrit root?
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The term nicotine honors a French diplomat who promoted tobacco. What was his full name?
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The word kindergarten was adopted into English from which European language?
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The term quarantine hospital lazaretto is from the church of Saint Lazarus. Which exact Venetian island housed the first lazaretto in 1423?
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The term algorithmic appears in English scientific prose in the nineteenth century. Which exact 1868 journal printed algorithmic as an adjective?
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The term silhouette was coined during the Seven Years War. Which exact year did French pamphleteers begin using silhouette as a noun for shadow portraits?
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The word volcano comes from the name of the Roman god of fire. Which Latin name is that?
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The word pangolin is from Malay pengguling meaning roller. Which year did pangolin first appear in English natural history?
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The word hamburger originally referred to food from a German city. Which city gave the name?
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The term quarantine was mirrored in Spanish cuarentena. Which exact royal pragmatica of 1523 references cuarentena for plague ships?
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The word quarantine shares the same root as Lent in some Romance languages. Which Italian term for Lent parallels forty?
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The word paprika for a spice entered English from which European language?
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The word juggernaut comes from a title of Krishna at a temple in India. Which coastal city hosts that Ratha Yatra?
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The word quarantine appears in Shakespearean era records. Which exact London document of 1603 lists quarantaines imposed at Billingsgate?
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The culinary term avocado comes via Spanish from Nahuatl. What exact Nahuatl word is cited?
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The nautical word posh is often given a folk etymology port out starboard home. The earliest documented print of that acronym appears in which year?
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The word vandal was reinterpreted in the Renaissance. Which exact Latin work by Procopius spread the tribe s name widely?
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The word influenza entered English from Italian during an epidemic in which exact year?
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The word whiskey in English derives from a Gaelic phrase. Which exact form means water of life?
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The word shampoo first appears in English in the 1760s associated with what service?
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The word origami began to appear in English art circles before 1900. Which exact 1891 periodical mentions Japanese paper folding under the term orikata?
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The word galore in English comes from Irish go leor. What is the literal meaning?
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The word quarantine derives from an Italian phrase meaning a period of forty days. Which exact Venetian term is the source?
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The word robot entered English from a Czech play. What does the Czech root robota literally mean?
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The English word tea appears in Pepys diary. Which precise date entry records tee as a China drink?
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The word paprika had an early German form Paprikae. Which exact Leipzig publisher issued a pharmacopoeia including Paprikae in 1793?
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The term boycott quickly spread into multiple languages. Which year did the verb to boycott first appear in The Times of London?
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The loanword ketchup has a comparable Malay term. Which exact Malay form is cited in the 1708 Macassar vocabulary?
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The word robot was popularized in 1920 by a play written in which language?
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The word blackout referring to power failure borrowed its metaphor from which wartime practice?
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The word quarantine originally governed ships at a Mediterranean port. Which city enforced the forty day rule earliest?
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The word hazard in medieval French also named a specific dice number. Which was it?
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The term paparazzi for celebrity photographers is from which Italian source?
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The word sandwich was popularized by John Montagu. Which numbered Earl of Sandwich was he?
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The word algorithm replaces algorism in twentieth century usage. Which exact 1924 paper by A A Bennett helped fix the modern spelling?
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The word algebra titles a work by al Khwarizmi. What is the full Arabic title beginning words?
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The word vandalism was coined in 1794 by Henri Gregoire to condemn destruction during which revolution?
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The banking term bourse may come from a Bruges inn with three purses on its sign. What family name is associated with that house?
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The term tuxedo originated at Tuxedo Park. Which exact newspaper printed the phrase tuxedo coat first in 1889?
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The word galore appears first in English in Scotland. Which exact poem by Allan Ramsay includes galore in 1721?
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The word bungalow first described a type of house built for Europeans in which country?
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The word ketchup reached English through trade with which region?
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The word typhoon in English blends Greek and Chinese influences. The Chinese source is from which dialect?
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The word hooligan possibly derives from a comic Irish surname. Which exact form is popularly cited?
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The drink name coffee traces back to which language term meaning a type of wine or bitter brew?
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The word tea has two main routes into European languages. The English word tea came via which coastal dialect?
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The term paparazzi came from a film by Federico Fellini. What is the exact Italian title of that film?
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The term silhouette honors a French finance minister known for austerity. What was his given name?
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The word taboo entered English from Polynesian languages through the voyages of which explorer?
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The etymon of jeans involves French genes for Genoa. Which exact French merchant manual of 1567 mentions futaine de Genes?
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The word karaoke joined English in the 1970s from Japan. What is the literal translation?
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The term Bluetooth was inspired by a tenth century king who united tribes. What exact rune was blended into its logo?
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The currency name peso originally means what in Spanish?
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The word safari became popular in English travel writing in the 19th century through which colonial language?
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The modern word champagne for sparkling wine was legally protected in the Paris Convention of which year?
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The word meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in which exact chapter of The Selfish Gene?
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The word checkmate first appears in English chess texts in the fifteenth century. Which exact manuscript family preserves the form chekmate?
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The word dollar was modeled on a silver coin from Joachims valley. What is the precise German name of that coin?
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The word tuxedo for dinner suit is named after a club founded in which US state?
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The word algorithm traveled through Latin algorismus into Old French algorisme. Which century sees algorisme first recorded in French?
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The term boycott reached Russian quickly. Which exact Cyrillic form first appears in 1881 newspapers?
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The word apricot came through multiple languages. Which exact Arabic form meaning early ripening is part of its path?
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The word pandemic gained prominence in medical Latin earlier than English. Which exact Latin phrase occurs in Fracastoro?
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The word paprika entered English scientific botany through an author who wrote on Capsicum annuum. Which Hungarian physician s 1831 work helped standardize the term?
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The word guru originally means what in Sanskrit?
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The word assassin was used in Latin chronicles of the Crusades. Which exact chronicler wrote about Assissini in 1192?
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The term sandwich appears in a 1762 London club note by Edward Gibbon. Which specific club did that note reference?
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The word tsunami appeared in English geological literature after a specific event. Which exact 1896 Sanriku event prompted wider adoption?
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The word mosquito in English comes from which Romance language diminutive?
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The English word hazard comes via Old French hasard from gaming jargon tied to what?
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The word orangutan literally means what in Malay?
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The term boycott produced the variant boycottage in early usage. Which decade saw that variant fade?
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The word pandemic comes from Greek pan plus demos. What does that compound literally mean?
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The word robot was translated from the Czech play by Paul Selver. In which London theater did the English premiere open in 1923?
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The word safari meaning journey in English came into the language through which East African language?
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The term quarantine became standardized in English spelling during which century?
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The term paparazzi pluralized as paparazzi in Italian. Which exact page range of La Dolce Vita script presents the name Paparazzo?
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The culinary term mayonnaise had a rival spelling bayonnaise. Which exact cookbook by Menon first printed bayonnaise in the 1750s?
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The word tattoo for skin ink likely entered English from which Polynesian language?
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The English word salary traces to payments once made in salt. Which precise Latin term is cited?
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The word whiskey appears in Scots records before English print. Which exact year shows usquebaugh in the Register of the Privy Council of Scotland?
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The term tofu used in English is borrowed from which language?
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The word quarantine in French became quarantaine. Which century saw this spelling standardize?
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The word tsunami used in English for a sea wave is borrowed from which language?
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The English word leotard honors an acrobat who toured Europe. What was his full birth name?
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The word assassin is connected with a sect known to use hashish according to medieval sources. Which Arabic plural underlies the term?
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The word algebra comes from the title of a 9th century book by al Khwarizmi that included which Arabic word?
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The word barbecue in English traces to which Caribbean language?
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The word clue originally meant a ball of thread guiding Theseus. Which exact Middle English form recorded this sense?
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The culinary word mayonnaise has several theories. The most accepted links it to a siege in 1756 at which city?
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The culinary word ketchup appears in British sources with many spellings. Which exact 1690s spelling pairs it with mushrooms?
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The word chocolate in English ultimately comes from a word in which indigenous language of Mexico?
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The word taboo was first printed in Cook s account with the spelling ta bu. Which exact year did that account appear in London?
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The word avocado passed into Spanish from Nahuatl and then to English through sailors logs. Which exact English book first uses avigato pear in 1696?
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The word origami meaning folded paper is from which language?
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The word quarantine influenced the naming of quarantine flags. Which exact letter signal became the single letter yellow flag after 1857?
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The English word checkmate comes from Persian shah mat. What is the literal meaning usually given?
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The word algorithm honors a scholar from Khwarazm. Which Latinized name produced the term?
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The word dollar traces back to coins from a Bohemian town. What was that town called?
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The word yoga comes from a Sanskrit root meaning what?
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The word pandemic gained mainstream English use in the twentieth century. Which exact 1918 US Public Health Service bulletin used pandemic influenza in its title?
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The word emoji originated in Japan. What does the element moji in emoji mean?
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