Word Origins Quiz: 40 Everyday Words With Crazy Backstories

Word Origins Quiz: 40 Everyday Words With Crazy Backstories: questions and answers

Try to answer first, then tap a question to see the answer.

1. "Breakfast" means breaking a... Bread · Fast · Egg

   Fast

2. "Goodbye" is short for... Good day to you · Go by now · God be with you

   God be with you

3. "Kindergarten" is a word from which language? German · Dutch · French

   German

4. "Tsunami" means "harbor wave" in... Chinese · Korean · Japanese

   Japanese

5. The word "jumbo" came from a famous... Ship · Elephant · Whale

   Elephant – Jumbo was a giant circus elephant in the 1880s.

6. "Hamburger" is named after a... City · Cook · Ham

   City

7. "Dinosaur" means "terrible..." Lizard · Bird · Giant

   Lizard

8. "Alphabet" comes from the first two letters of which alphabet? Latin · Hebrew · Greek

   Greek

9. "Robot" comes from which language? German · Czech · Russian

   Czech – It comes from "robota", forced work, in a 1920 Czech play.

10. Which day is NOT named after a god? Tuesday · Wednesday · Monday · Friday

    Monday

11. "Ketchup" most likely comes from which language? English · Spanish · Chinese

    Chinese – The first ketchup was a fish sauce, with no tomatoes!

12. "Quarantine" comes from the Italian word for... Forty · Sick · Island

    Forty – Ships waited 40 days before sailors could come ashore.

13. "Muscle" comes from the Latin for... Strong arm · Little mouse · Rope

    Little mouse – A flexing muscle looked like a little mouse under the skin!

14. Long ago, "silly" meant... Angry · Blessed · Tired

    Blessed

15. "Disaster" literally means a bad... Storm · Day · Star

    Star

16. "Jeans" got their name from which city? Genoa · Paris · Denver

    Genoa

17. "Denim" comes from "de Nîmes", a town in... Italy · Spain · France

    France

18. "Sandwich" is named after an English... Baker · Earl · King

    Earl – Legend says he wanted a snack he could eat at the card table!

19. The "tuxedo" is named after... A town · A tailor · A penguin

    A town

20. "Volcano" comes from the Roman god... Vulcan · Mars · Neptune

    Vulcan

21. The word "coach" comes from a village in Hungary.

    True – Kocs, Hungary, made famous fast carriages.

22. "Thursday" is named after the god... Odin · Saturn · Thor

    Thor

23. "Astronaut" means "star..." Walker · Sailor · Hunter

    Sailor

24. "Hippopotamus" means "river..." Cow · Pig · Horse

    Horse

25. "Algebra" comes from which language? Arabic · Greek · Latin

    Arabic – It comes from "al-jabr", the title of a book from about 820 AD.

26. "Mortgage" literally means... House loan · Death pledge · Gold promise

    Death pledge

27. "January" is named after the Roman god... Jupiter · Janus · Juno

    Janus – Janus, god of doors and beginnings, had two faces.

28. "Cereal" is named after Ceres, goddess of... Water · The Sun · Grain

    Grain

29. "Bikini" is named after... An island · A designer · A beach town

    An island

30. "Shampoo" comes from which language? French · Italian · Hindi

    Hindi – It comes from "champo", meaning to press or massage.

31. "Emoji" comes from the English word "emotion".

    False – It's Japanese: "e" means picture, "moji" means character.

32. "Safari" means "journey" in... Arabic · Swahili · Zulu

    Swahili

33. "Pineapple" first meant... A pine cone · An apple · A lemon

    A pine cone – Pine cones looked like apples on pine trees!

34. "Avalanche" comes from which language? French · German · Norwegian

    French

35. "Clue" once meant a ball of thread.

    True

36. "Salary" probably comes from the Latin word for... Silver · Soldier · Salt

    Salt

37. "Galaxy" comes from the Greek word for... Light · Milk · Stars

    Milk – That's why ours is called the Milky Way!

38. "Checkmate" comes from Persian, meaning... Well played · The queen wins · The king is helpless

    The king is helpless

39. "Nightmare" was once a... Ghost that sat on you · Black horse · Bad dream about rain

    Ghost that sat on you – A "mare" was a spirit people believed sat on sleepers' chests.

40. Long ago, "nice" meant... Kind · Foolish · Rich

    Foolish – From the Latin "nescius": not knowing!

41. "Hippopotamus" means river horse. What does "rhinoceros" mean? Nose horn · Big body · River beast

    Nose horn