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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)
๐กmedium
The term boycott entered English in 1880 after a campaign against which Irish land agent?
๐ขeasy
The word tsunami replaced tidal wave in scientific contexts because it is more accurate. Which year did the word appear in major English dictionaries?
๐ดhard
The word tyrant comes from Greek tyrannos perhaps of Anatolian origin. Which exact Lydian royal name is proposed as a cognate?
๐ขeasy
The word bungalow in English was adapted from a term meaning Bengal style house in which language?
๐ขeasy
What is the original language of the word karaoke meaning empty orchestra?
๐ขeasy
The word kamikaze entered English during World War Two. What is its literal meaning?
๐ดhard
The term tuxedo was linked to the autumn ball of 1886. Which exact socialite is credited with introducing the short dinner jacket that season?
๐กmedium
The word quarantine inspired quarantine island names. Which Adriatic city had the lazaretto on Lokrum in the fifteenth century?
๐ขeasy
The English word pajama entered via colonial India from which original Persian term?
๐กmedium
The word kamikaze references a storm that saved Japan from invasion. Which year saw the second Mongol fleet wrecked?
๐ขeasy
Which ancient language gave us the word democracy meaning rule by the people?
๐ขeasy
The word ketchup has an origin connected to a sauce from which language family?
๐กmedium
The term quarantine shifted from maritime to disease control for people after which exact London year of plague?
๐กmedium
The word jeans comes from the French name for a city. Which city supplied the cloth?
๐ขeasy
The word sushi in English describes a dish whose name means what in Japanese?
๐ดhard
The word quarantine had a precursor trentino meaning thirty days in some statutes. Which port s regulation used trentino in 1377?
๐ขeasy
The word shampoo came into English through Hindi but ultimately traces to which Sanskrit root?
๐กmedium
The term nicotine honors a French diplomat who promoted tobacco. What was his full name?
๐ขeasy
The word kindergarten was adopted into English from which European language?
๐ดhard
The term quarantine hospital lazaretto is from the church of Saint Lazarus. Which exact Venetian island housed the first lazaretto in 1423?
๐ดhard
The term algorithmic appears in English scientific prose in the nineteenth century. Which exact 1868 journal printed algorithmic as an adjective?
๐ดhard
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?
๐ขeasy
The word volcano comes from the name of the Roman god of fire. Which Latin name is that?
๐ดhard
The word pangolin is from Malay pengguling meaning roller. Which year did pangolin first appear in English natural history?
๐ขeasy
The word hamburger originally referred to food from a German city. Which city gave the name?
๐ดhard
The term quarantine was mirrored in Spanish cuarentena. Which exact royal pragmatica of 1523 references cuarentena for plague ships?
๐กmedium
The word quarantine shares the same root as Lent in some Romance languages. Which Italian term for Lent parallels forty?
๐ขeasy
The word paprika for a spice entered English from which European language?
๐กmedium
The word juggernaut comes from a title of Krishna at a temple in India. Which coastal city hosts that Ratha Yatra?
๐ดhard
The word quarantine appears in Shakespearean era records. Which exact London document of 1603 lists quarantaines imposed at Billingsgate?
๐กmedium
The culinary term avocado comes via Spanish from Nahuatl. What exact Nahuatl word is cited?
๐ดhard
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?
๐ดhard
The word vandal was reinterpreted in the Renaissance. Which exact Latin work by Procopius spread the tribe s name widely?
๐กmedium
The word influenza entered English from Italian during an epidemic in which exact year?
๐กmedium
The word whiskey in English derives from a Gaelic phrase. Which exact form means water of life?
๐ขeasy
The word shampoo first appears in English in the 1760s associated with what service?
๐ดhard
The word origami began to appear in English art circles before 1900. Which exact 1891 periodical mentions Japanese paper folding under the term orikata?
๐กmedium
The word galore in English comes from Irish go leor. What is the literal meaning?
๐กmedium
The word quarantine derives from an Italian phrase meaning a period of forty days. Which exact Venetian term is the source?
๐กmedium
The word robot entered English from a Czech play. What does the Czech root robota literally mean?
๐ดhard
The English word tea appears in Pepys diary. Which precise date entry records tee as a China drink?
๐ดhard
The word paprika had an early German form Paprikae. Which exact Leipzig publisher issued a pharmacopoeia including Paprikae in 1793?
๐กmedium
The term boycott quickly spread into multiple languages. Which year did the verb to boycott first appear in The Times of London?
๐ดhard
The loanword ketchup has a comparable Malay term. Which exact Malay form is cited in the 1708 Macassar vocabulary?
๐ขeasy
The word robot was popularized in 1920 by a play written in which language?
๐ขeasy
The word blackout referring to power failure borrowed its metaphor from which wartime practice?
๐กmedium
The word quarantine originally governed ships at a Mediterranean port. Which city enforced the forty day rule earliest?
๐กmedium
The word hazard in medieval French also named a specific dice number. Which was it?
๐ขeasy
The term paparazzi for celebrity photographers is from which Italian source?
๐กmedium
The word sandwich was popularized by John Montagu. Which numbered Earl of Sandwich was he?
๐ดhard
The word algorithm replaces algorism in twentieth century usage. Which exact 1924 paper by A A Bennett helped fix the modern spelling?
๐กmedium
The word algebra titles a work by al Khwarizmi. What is the full Arabic title beginning words?
๐กmedium
The word vandalism was coined in 1794 by Henri Gregoire to condemn destruction during which revolution?
๐ดhard
The banking term bourse may come from a Bruges inn with three purses on its sign. What family name is associated with that house?
๐ดhard
The term tuxedo originated at Tuxedo Park. Which exact newspaper printed the phrase tuxedo coat first in 1889?
๐ดhard
The word galore appears first in English in Scotland. Which exact poem by Allan Ramsay includes galore in 1721?
๐ขeasy
The word bungalow first described a type of house built for Europeans in which country?
๐ขeasy
The word ketchup reached English through trade with which region?
๐ขeasy
The word typhoon in English blends Greek and Chinese influences. The Chinese source is from which dialect?
๐กmedium
The word hooligan possibly derives from a comic Irish surname. Which exact form is popularly cited?
๐ขeasy
The drink name coffee traces back to which language term meaning a type of wine or bitter brew?
๐ขeasy
The word tea has two main routes into European languages. The English word tea came via which coastal dialect?
๐กmedium
The term paparazzi came from a film by Federico Fellini. What is the exact Italian title of that film?
๐กmedium
The term silhouette honors a French finance minister known for austerity. What was his given name?
๐กmedium
The word taboo entered English from Polynesian languages through the voyages of which explorer?
๐ดhard
The etymon of jeans involves French genes for Genoa. Which exact French merchant manual of 1567 mentions futaine de Genes?
๐ขeasy
The word karaoke joined English in the 1970s from Japan. What is the literal translation?
๐กmedium
The term Bluetooth was inspired by a tenth century king who united tribes. What exact rune was blended into its logo?
๐ขeasy
The currency name peso originally means what in Spanish?
๐ขeasy
The word safari became popular in English travel writing in the 19th century through which colonial language?
๐กmedium
The modern word champagne for sparkling wine was legally protected in the Paris Convention of which year?
๐กmedium
The word meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in which exact chapter of The Selfish Gene?
๐ดhard
The word checkmate first appears in English chess texts in the fifteenth century. Which exact manuscript family preserves the form chekmate?
๐กmedium
The word dollar was modeled on a silver coin from Joachims valley. What is the precise German name of that coin?
๐กmedium
The word tuxedo for dinner suit is named after a club founded in which US state?
๐ดhard
The word algorithm traveled through Latin algorismus into Old French algorisme. Which century sees algorisme first recorded in French?
๐ดhard
The term boycott reached Russian quickly. Which exact Cyrillic form first appears in 1881 newspapers?
๐กmedium
The word apricot came through multiple languages. Which exact Arabic form meaning early ripening is part of its path?
๐ดhard
The word pandemic gained prominence in medical Latin earlier than English. Which exact Latin phrase occurs in Fracastoro?
๐ดhard
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?
๐ขeasy
The word guru originally means what in Sanskrit?
๐ดhard
The word assassin was used in Latin chronicles of the Crusades. Which exact chronicler wrote about Assissini in 1192?
๐ดhard
The term sandwich appears in a 1762 London club note by Edward Gibbon. Which specific club did that note reference?
๐ดhard
The word tsunami appeared in English geological literature after a specific event. Which exact 1896 Sanriku event prompted wider adoption?
๐ขeasy
The word mosquito in English comes from which Romance language diminutive?
๐กmedium
The English word hazard comes via Old French hasard from gaming jargon tied to what?
๐ขeasy
The word orangutan literally means what in Malay?
๐กmedium
The term boycott produced the variant boycottage in early usage. Which decade saw that variant fade?
๐ขeasy
The word pandemic comes from Greek pan plus demos. What does that compound literally mean?
๐ดhard
The word robot was translated from the Czech play by Paul Selver. In which London theater did the English premiere open in 1923?
๐ขeasy
The word safari meaning journey in English came into the language through which East African language?
๐กmedium
The term quarantine became standardized in English spelling during which century?
๐ดhard
The term paparazzi pluralized as paparazzi in Italian. Which exact page range of La Dolce Vita script presents the name Paparazzo?
๐ดhard
The culinary term mayonnaise had a rival spelling bayonnaise. Which exact cookbook by Menon first printed bayonnaise in the 1750s?
๐ขeasy
The word tattoo for skin ink likely entered English from which Polynesian language?
๐กmedium
The English word salary traces to payments once made in salt. Which precise Latin term is cited?
๐ดhard
The word whiskey appears in Scots records before English print. Which exact year shows usquebaugh in the Register of the Privy Council of Scotland?
๐ขeasy
The term tofu used in English is borrowed from which language?
๐กmedium
The word quarantine in French became quarantaine. Which century saw this spelling standardize?
๐ขeasy
The word tsunami used in English for a sea wave is borrowed from which language?
๐ดhard
The English word leotard honors an acrobat who toured Europe. What was his full birth name?
๐กmedium
The word assassin is connected with a sect known to use hashish according to medieval sources. Which Arabic plural underlies the term?
๐ขeasy
The word algebra comes from the title of a 9th century book by al Khwarizmi that included which Arabic word?
๐ขeasy
The word barbecue in English traces to which Caribbean language?
๐กmedium
The word clue originally meant a ball of thread guiding Theseus. Which exact Middle English form recorded this sense?
๐กmedium
The culinary word mayonnaise has several theories. The most accepted links it to a siege in 1756 at which city?
๐ดhard
The culinary word ketchup appears in British sources with many spellings. Which exact 1690s spelling pairs it with mushrooms?
๐ขeasy
The word chocolate in English ultimately comes from a word in which indigenous language of Mexico?
๐ดhard
The word taboo was first printed in Cook s account with the spelling ta bu. Which exact year did that account appear in London?
๐ดhard
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?
๐ขeasy
The word origami meaning folded paper is from which language?
๐ดhard
The word quarantine influenced the naming of quarantine flags. Which exact letter signal became the single letter yellow flag after 1857?
๐กmedium
The English word checkmate comes from Persian shah mat. What is the literal meaning usually given?
๐กmedium
The word algorithm honors a scholar from Khwarazm. Which Latinized name produced the term?
๐ขeasy
The word dollar traces back to coins from a Bohemian town. What was that town called?
๐ขeasy
The word yoga comes from a Sanskrit root meaning what?
๐ดhard
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?
๐ขeasy
The word emoji originated in Japan. What does the element moji in emoji mean?
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