Word Origins & Etymology Quiz

1. The word 'democracy' comes from which language?

1. Arabic
2. French
3. Greek
4. Latin

2. Which language gave English the word 'ballet'?

1. French
2. German
3. Italian
4. Spanish

3. The Latin root 'aqua' means?

1. Air
2. Earth
3. Fire
4. Water

4. What does the Greek root 'bio' mean?

1. Earth
2. Good
3. Life
4. Two

5. The word 'algebra' comes from which language?

1. Arabic
2. Greek
3. Latin
4. Persian

6. What does the Latin root 'bene' mean?

1. Bad
2. Good/well
3. Large
4. Two

7. The word 'avatar' originally comes from which language?

1. Chinese
2. Japanese
3. Persian
4. Sanskrit

8. What does the Greek prefix 'tele' mean?

1. Far/distant
2. Fast
3. Many
4. Small

9. Which language contributed the words 'beef', 'pork', and 'mutton' to English?

1. French
2. German
3. Latin
4. Norse

10. What does the Greek root 'graph' mean?

1. To measure
2. To see
3. To speak
4. To write

11. The word 'robot' was coined from which language?

1. Czech
2. German
3. Polish
4. Russian

12. What does the Latin root 'port' mean?

1. Bridge
2. Door
3. Sea
4. To carry

13. The English word 'safari' came from which language via Swahili?

1. Arabic
2. Dutch
3. French
4. Portuguese

14. What does the Greek root 'chron' mean?

1. Colour
2. Hand
3. Mind
4. Time

15. The word 'shampoo' originally came from which language?

1. Arabic
2. Hindi
3. Malay
4. Persian

16. What does the Latin root 'dict' mean?

1. To lead
2. To say/speak
3. To see
4. To write

17. Which country's language gave English the word 'window'?

1. French
2. German
3. Latin
4. Old Norse

18. What does the Greek root 'phon' mean?

1. Light
2. Mind
3. Sound/voice
4. Water

19. The word 'chocolate' came to English through Spanish from which indigenous language?

1. Arawak
2. Mayan
3. Nahuatl
4. Quechua

20. What does the Latin root 'scrib/script' mean?

1. To count
2. To cut
3. To speak
4. To write