Word Origins: Explore the History of Words with Etymology Quizzes

Question 1

Which word has a Latin root meaning 'to carry'?

Accepted Answer

Portmanteau

Answer

Telephone

Answer

Computer

Answer

Bicycle

Question 2

What does the prefix 'anti-' mean?

Accepted Answer

Against or opposite

Answer

With or together

Answer

Above or over

Answer

For or towards

Question 3

What is the root word of 'telephone'?

Accepted Answer

Tele

Answer

Phone

Answer

Graph

Answer

Meter

Question 4

Which word evolved from the Old English word 'mete'?

Accepted Answer

Measure

Answer

Meet

Answer

Meat

Answer

Money

Question 5

Which word means the same as 'loquacious'?

Accepted Answer

Talkative

Answer

Quiet

Answer

Smart

Answer

Funny

Question 6

Which word does not have a Greek root?

Accepted Answer

Computer

Answer

Microphone

Answer

Biology

Answer

Democracy

Question 7

What is the origin of the word "star"?

Accepted Answer

Old English

Answer

Latin

Answer

Greek

Answer

French

Question 8

What does the Latin word "ambulare" mean?

Accepted Answer

To walk

Answer

To drive

Answer

To transport

Answer

To heal

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a way to find out the history of a word?

Accepted Answer

Guessing

Answer

Using a dictionary

Answer

Examining its structure

Answer

Asking an expert

Question 10

What type of word is "supermarket"?

Accepted Answer

Compound word

Answer

Portmanteau word

Answer

Acronym

Answer

Initialism

Question 11

Which of the following words is an example of onomatopoeia?

Accepted Answer

Splash

Answer

Beautiful

Answer

Magnificent

Answer

Serene

Question 12

What is the meaning of the Greek word "tekhnē"?

Accepted Answer

Skill

Answer

Art

Answer

Science

Answer

Knowledge

Question 13

Originally, what did the word 'computer' refer to?

Accepted Answer

A person who does calculations

Answer

A device for computing

Answer

A kind of software

Answer

A storage device

Question 14

Which of these words means the same as 'begin'?

Accepted Answer

Commence

Answer

Conclude

Answer

Halt

Answer

Terminate

Question 15

From which Greek roots does the word 'photograph' originate?

Accepted Answer

'Phos' and 'graphos'

Answer

'Chronos' and 'logia'

Answer

'Demos' and 'kratos'

Answer

'Geo' and 'metry'

Question 16

Which of these words has a Latin root meaning 'lead'?

Accepted Answer

Conduct

Answer

Defer

Answer

Follow

Answer

Obey

Question 17

Which suffix is used to indicate a person who does something?

Accepted Answer

-er

Answer

-ment

Answer

-ity

Answer

-tion

Question 18

Which part of the word "telephone" means "far" in Greek?

Accepted Answer

tele

Answer

phone

Answer

graph

Answer

gram

Question 19

Where did the word "rucksack" originally come from?

Accepted Answer

German

Answer

French

Answer

Latin

Answer

Greek

Question 20

Which of these words has a similar origin to the Spanish word "casa" (house)?

Accepted Answer

house

Answer

home

Answer

cottage

Answer

flat

Question 21

What is the difference between a homonym and a synonym?

Accepted Answer

Homophones sound the same but have different meanings, while synonyms have the same meaning but sound different

Answer

Homophones have the same meaning but sound different, while synonyms sound the same but have different meanings

Answer

Homophones and synonyms are the same thing

Answer

Homophones are words that have the same spelling but different meanings and pronunciations

Question 22

Which of the following is an example of two words that have been combined to create a new word, like "brunch" (breakfast + lunch)?

Accepted Answer

brunch

Answer

smog

Answer

computer

Answer

telephone

Question 23

Where did the word "selfie" originate from?

Accepted Answer

Modern English

Answer

Latin

Answer

Greek

Answer

Old English

Question 24

How does studying the history of words help us understand language?

Accepted Answer

It shows us how words have changed and evolved over time

Answer

It helps us learn grammar rules

Answer

It teaches us how to pronounce words correctly

Answer

It tells us about different dialects of a language

Question 25

Which word shares the Greek root "graphein" with "geography

Accepted Answer

Graphic

Answer

Biology

Answer

Mathematics

Answer

History

Question 26

The word 'umbrella' comes from the Latin word 'umbra', which means:

Accepted Answer

Shadow

Answer

Rain

Answer

Sun

Answer

Wind

Question 27

Which prefix means 'not' or 'opposite of'?

Accepted Answer

Un-

Answer

Re-

Answer

Pre-

Answer

Dis-

Question 28

The suffix '-ment' often indicates:

Accepted Answer

A state or condition

Answer

An action or process

Answer

A person or thing

Answer

A place

Question 29

Which of the following words is an example of onomatopoeia?

Accepted Answer

Buzz

Answer

Beautiful

Answer

Slowly

Answer

Magnificent

Question 30

Which of the following words has a Germanic root?

Accepted Answer

Window

Answer

Mountain

Answer

Table

Answer

River

Question 31

The word 'robot' was coined by:

Accepted Answer

Karel Čapek

Answer

Isaac Asimov

Answer

Alan Turing

Answer

Charles Babbage

Question 32

Which of the following is a synonym for 'etymology'?

Accepted Answer

Origin of words

Answer

Meaning of words

Answer

Pronunciation of words

Answer

Grammar of words

Question 33

The study of the historical development of words is known as:

Accepted Answer

Etymology

Answer

Semantics

Answer

Pragmatics

Answer

Syntax

Question 34

What is the Latin root word of 'computer'?

Accepted Answer

computare

Answer

putate

Answer

calculate

Answer

compute

Question 35

What is the history behind the name 'sandwich'?

Accepted Answer

It was named after the Earl of Sandwich

Answer

It comes from the Old English word for 'sand'

Answer

It was invented in Sandwich, Kent

Answer

It is a combination of 'sand' and 'which'

Question 36

From which language did the word 'dog' originate?

Accepted Answer

Old English

Answer

Latin

Answer

Greek

Answer

French

Question 37

In which language did the term 'etymology' originate?

Accepted Answer

Greek

Answer

Latin

Answer

Old Norse

Answer

Sanskrit

Question 38

What is the term for the process of words changing their meaning over time?

Accepted Answer

Semantic shift

Answer

Phonetic change

Answer

Morphological analysis

Answer

Syntactic variation

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a factor that can influence the origins of words?

Accepted Answer

Animal behaviour

Answer

Cultural exchange

Answer

Technological advancements

Answer

Political events

Question 40

The Old English word 'steorra' means which modern English word?

Accepted Answer

Star

Answer

Table

Answer

Chair

Answer

Book

Question 41

The Latin root word 'computare' is the origin of which English word?

Accepted Answer

Computer

Answer

Calculus

Answer

Curriculum

Answer

Cognition

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT a reliable method for studying etymology?

Accepted Answer

Guesswork

Answer

Comparative linguistics

Answer

Historical research

Answer

Geographical mapping

Question 43

From which Native American language is the word 'hurricane' derived?

Accepted Answer

Taino

Answer

Maya

Answer

Aztec

Answer

Incan

Question 44

What is the term for the process by which words change their meaning over time?

Accepted Answer

Semantic shift

Answer

Phonetic change

Answer

Morphological evolution

Answer

Syntactic variation

Question 45

Which of the following is a root word?

Accepted Answer

Uni

Answer

Beautiful

Answer

Quickly

Answer

Happy

Question 46

From which two languages do the roots of the word 'photography' come?

Accepted Answer

Greek and Latin

Answer

Spanish and Italian

Answer

French and English

Answer

German and Russian

Question 47

The word 'queue' can be traced back to which language?

Accepted Answer

French

Answer

Latin

Answer

Greek

Answer

German

Question 48

Which of the following is **not** a method used to trace the history of words?

Accepted Answer

Consulting a friend

Answer

Consulting a dictionary

Answer

Examining old texts

Answer

Searching online

Question 49

Which word has evolved from the Latin word 'scribere'?

Accepted Answer

Write

Answer

Read

Answer

Speak

Answer

Listen

Question 50

What is the term for the study of the historical development of words?

Accepted Answer

Etymology

Answer

Semantics

Answer

Syntax

Answer

Morphology

Question 51

What is the root word of the word 'photograph'?

Accepted Answer

Photo

Answer

Graph

Answer

Light

Answer

Write

Question 52

What is the origin of the word 'internet'?

Accepted Answer

The Latin words 'inter' and 'rete'

Answer

The Greek words 'inter' and 'net'

Answer

The English words 'inter' and 'nation'

Answer

The French words 'inter' and 'réseau'