Test your etymology skills (skill: from the Old Norse “skil”)
I found an etymology quiz online yesterday. They give you 10 random questions on word origins with multiple-choice answers. It’s freaking hard. Give it a try and let us know how you did in the comments.
- My first try: 6 out of 10
- Second try: 6 out of 10
- Third try: OK, I should get back to work.
Funniest false answer:
- Where do we get the word testimony?
- From testicle; the ancient Greeks would swear not on a Bible, but holding their crotch and swearing on their testicles.
Funny, but true:
- From where did we borrow the word pencil?
- The Latin diminutive of penis, for “tail, brush.”
Yes I am aware the two that I found funny are on a middle-school level of humor. I’m OK with that.
Most interesting true answer:
- What is the proper definition for the word soteriology?
- Study of the salvation of the eternal soul.
Also interesting:
- What did palooka originally mean?
- An inferior or average boxer.
Posted on December 10, 2008 12:00 pm, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
7 out of 10. You’re right, it’s addictive.
5 of 10
then 2 of 10 (D’oh)
then 8 of 10 (worship me.)
From my Aunt Sara posting on my Facebook page:
“4/10, 3/10, 7/10 and I quit while I was ahead. “
I got 8, then 7, then 6, and stopped feeling smug.
Awesome quiz: I’ve been looking a long time for something like that. So much fun.
My first time I got 9/10 (origin of ‘zealot’ torpedoed my attempt to get 100%), but lucked out on the second time with 6/10. Will try again.
“What did palooka originally mean?”
I couldn’t tell you what palooka means now!
5/10 and then 8/10 – ok so I cheated 0n the second one and it should have been 7/10.
So I’m not a complete dullard, just a cheating dullard!
2/10 *Sobs
9/10 on the first go. I’ve been a sometime etymology fan for decades, so the classical stuff was easy, but I could only guess at regional dialects.
3 out of 10. Ugh.
Coincidentally, one of the words that came up during my first round was “purdah.”