lab session 1 Flashcards
What species if the Iris family of flowers, was discovered in the Western Cape in 2010 (Give only one word for the answer)?
vuvuzela
emoticon and emoji are the same thing
false
Old English is known as ‘Anglo Saxon’
true
which word is a neologism: cobra cat hound dog
dog
Mary 1, Queen of England, was nicknamed ‘Bloody Mary’ because
she had people burned at the stake for being of the Protestant faith.
The Global Language Monitor estimates that the vocabulary of English has now exceeded a million words.
true
computer is an example of: A: pejoration B. generalization C. specialization D. amelioration
C specialisaton
‘Nice’ is an example of a word that has elevated/ameliorated in meaning.
true
Which of the following words is not Latin in origin? A. assassin B. bankrupt C. cobra D. mile
A
Which word is an example of an initialism: A. KFM B. FIAT C. DOS D. NATO
A
'spin doctor' is an example of: A. affixation B. blend C. compound D. neologism
C
What was the name of the controversy which raged between neologizers and linguistic purists during the Renaissance?
Inkhorn Controversy
Shakespeare coined the the phrase “an eye for an eye”.
false- coined by the King James Bible
Choose the word which is NOT a clipped word: A. cab B. zoo C. ID D. mob
c
Choose the word which is not an acronym: A. Soweto B. sonar C. mob D. radar
C
Vasco da Gama named which creature that he encountered on his travels: A. canary B. cobra C. dog D. kangaroo
B
The verb 'to sms' is an example of: A. conversion B. affixation C. initialism D. neologism
A
'Fan' is an example of: A. abbreviation/clipped word B. acronym C. blend D. neologism
A
William Caxton invented the printing press.
False- he introduced it to Britain but it was invented in Germany
‘Zero’ derives from Latin.
false
‘In vino veritas’ means:
A. truth in wine
B. cultivation of the vine
C. enjoyment in wine
A
'Facebook' is an example of: A. compound B. blend C. affixation D. neologism
A
Hebrew and Yiddish are cognate languages.
false
Hebrew is a non Indo-European language and Yiddish is an Indo-European language belonging to the Germanic branch
Dr Samuel Johnson was a famous lexicographer.
True
English is a Romance language.
false
it is a germanic language
English is a descendant of the Proto-Indo-European language.
true
PIE was the parent language of the Indo-European languages, of which English belongs to the western branch.
What is another name for a ‘portmanteau’ word?
blend
Dr Samuel Johnson wrote the first grammar book in English.
false
Dr Samuel Johnson’s book set out standards of spelling while Robert Lowth’s “Short Introduction to English Grammar” (1762) set out standardized grammar as well as spelling
Choose the word which has undergone pejoration:
A. nice
B. silly
C. decimate
B
The Norman Invasion of Britain brought in thousands of words of French origin.
True
False
True
‘HIV’ is an example of:
A. neologism
B. initialism
C. acronym
B
‘wi-fi’ is an example of a clipped word
True
False
false
Wi-Fi is a trademark name created by Interbrand advertising group, invented as a pun on ‘hi-fi’ but not created as ‘wireless fidelity’.
Where was the author of 'The Hobbit', Tolkein, born? A. Bloemfontein B. London C. New York D. Kimberley
A
In the dictionary, when looking up the etymology of a word, what does the abbreviation Ar. stand for:
Arabic
‘Googol’ is a term for
A. a type of cricketing bowling
B. a mathematical formula
C. a search engine
B
'denim' is an example of: A. eponym B. toponym C. acronym D. neologism
B
In the blend, ‘malware’, what is the ‘mal’ part of the word short for:
malicious
The Celtic languages died out after the invasion of Britain by the Angles, Saxons and Jutes.
false
They remain as Welsh, Irish and Scottish, retained by those who moved northwards to escape the domination of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes.
‘scuba’ is an example of a/an:
A. borrowed word
B. acronym
C. blend
B
'spam' is an example of: A. compound B. blend C. conversion D. abbreviation
blend
The Angles, Saxons and Jutes were the first settlers in Britain.
false
Give one word which means ‘correct, conventional spelling’.
orthography
‘taxi’ is an example of a/an:
A. blend
B. compound
C. clipped word
C
Give one word of Greek origin which means ‘the study of the origin of words’:
etymology
The etymology of ‘ketchup’ is American English.
True
False
false
Chinese origin
In the blend ‘microbus’, what is the ‘bus’ part short for:
omnibus
Which of the following words is Hebrew in origin: chutzpah; goulash; amen; saffron
amen
What is the distance of a standard marathon? A. 21,1 km B. 42 km C. 26 km D. 42,2 km
42.2 km
The marathon foot-race was first run in the ancient Olympic Games.
false
Chaucer wrote his books in Latin.
True
False
false
an acronym is always punctuated.
True
False
false
The information which must be read in order to understand a geographical map is called the:
A. affixation
B. legend
C. etymology
legend, B
Which punctuation mark derived from the abbreviation of the Latin ‘quaere’?
question mark
What was the original name for the search engine, Google?
Back Rub
'Brexit' is an example of a: A. compound B. acronym C. abbreviation D. blend
D blend
French has the second largest vocabulary of our world languages.
True
False
false
Feedback: French has 100,000 words (dictionary entries) while English has over 650,000.
During the two centuries of French rule in Britain, the kings spoke English.
false
From which language is the word ‘assassin’ derived:
arabic
The Romans introduced wine to Britain
true
Choose the word which is a toponym: A. balaclava B. mandela stadium C. braille D. sandwich
A
Choose the word which is a toponym: A. sandwich B. marathon C. gerrymander D. swastika
B
The following words are synonyms:
traduce - malign
true
Choose the odd one out: A. curricula B. stadia C. memoranda D. formula
D
formula is single and the other words are plural
The following words are synonyms:
graduand - graduate
True
False
false
A graduand has not yet received his/her degree/diploma.
‘Hamburger’ is an example of a toponym.
True
False
true
Fiscal matters are related to birds and their habits.
True
False
false
fiscal matters relate to financial matters, especially government revenue.
Benito Mussolini was a great admirer of whom?
A. Hitler
B. Julius Caesar
C. Fasci di Combattimento
b
Give the negative of ‘flammable’:
non flammable
Militant behaviour is usually belligerent.
True
False
true
A dissolute person is one who behaves with rectitude.
True
False
false
to be dissolute is to have loose morals whereas to behave with rectitude is to be morally correct.
The Americans introduced the ‘ize’ ending for verbs.
True
False
false
Greek verbs ending in ‘-izein’
The term ‘sterling’, used to refer to British currency, was introduced into Britain by the Romans
false
It was introduced by the French when they invaded in 1066.
What did the Portuguese explorer, Magellan, discover? A. Pacific Ocean B. Canary Islands C. cobra snake D. kangaroo
A
‘innocuous’ and ‘inoculate’ are etymologically linked.
True
False
Innoculate comes from ‘nocere’ (to harm) while inoculate comes from ‘oculus’ (graft/bud).
Which of the following people would be described as being 'gravid'? A. an obsequious person B. heavily pregnant woman C. a gladiator D. a serious person
B
The swastika symbol was first used as a symbol of the Nazi party.
True
False
false
It was a primitive religious symbol used as a symbol of good luck in religions such as Hindu and Buddhist religions.
An insolvent person has pecuniary problems.
True
Give the word which means ‘to manipulate political boundaries to favour a particulary party.’
gerrymander
What does the ‘L’ in the British currency abbreviation, L.s.d., represent?
Libra
What language does the word ‘cobra’ derive from?
Latin
The meaning of the root in the verb ‘supersede’ is ‘to go’.
false
The meaning of the root is ‘sit’ from ‘sedere’ - this is commonly mis-spelt as ‘supercede’ by those who mistakenly think that the root is ‘cedere’ meaning ‘to go’.
The meaning of the Latin root in the word 'canary' is: A. finch B. dog C. bird D. sing
B
‘Nicotiana tabacum’ is the binomial classification of which substance:
nicotine
Give one word, of Latin origin, which means ‘a person opposed to war and violence’:
pacifist
Give the antonym (opposite) of ‘extramural’:
intramural
Choose the odd one out: A. guillotine B. braille C. pasteurize D. vaccine
D
Which of the following words can NEVER have the '-ize' spelling option: A. organise B. surprise C. realise D. characterise
B
Choose the correct meaning of the Latin root which exists in the following word: juvenile A. silly B. delinquent C. youth D. child
C
Choose the Latin word or phrase which means:
a sworn statement
A. caveat
B. affidavit
C. credo
D. de iure
B
Choose the Latin word or phrase which means: an illogical statement A. opprobrium B. sine qua non C. ex post facto D. non sequitur
D
what is the plural of ‘campus’
campuses
If you receive the opprobrium of others for something, it means: A. an award B. praise C. criticism D. punishment
C
A quasi-scientific argument is accepted as valid by scientists.
True
False
False
What small units are words made up of:
morpheme
give the singular word for data
datum
The word kangaroo, used to describe the animal, was first recorded as an English word by two people. Name one of them:
James Cook
Joseph Banks
The word ‘paparazzi’ originated from the name of a character in a film.
True
Thomas Bowdler removed what he considered offensive passages from the work of which famous author:
Shakespeare
The substance nicotine was brought into France from which country:
Portugal
The first vaccine was developed as an antidote to which deadly disease
smallpox
Choose the word which means ‘burden or responsibility’:
A. crux
B. impetus
C. onus
C
Fill in the missing part: come between: vene
inter
Fill in the missing part: a speaking around : locution
circum
Choose the word which is the odd one out: A. alumni B. vertebra C. memoranda D. alumnae
B
give the singular for species
species
‘Agenda’ is an example of:
A. affixation
B. assimilation
C. gerundive
D. vowel weakening
C
Give one word of Latin origin which means ‘hard working/diligent’
assiduous
Choose the odd one out: A. executive B. sequel C. consequence D. exceed
Key: D
Feedback: ‘Exceed’ derives from ‘cedere’ while all the others derive from ‘sequi, secutus’.
what is the antonym of ‘immigrate’
emigrate
give the Latin plural of focus
foci
give the Latin plural of alumna
alumnae
plural of octopus
octopuses
Which of the following words derives from the Latin word for cow?
A. vaccination
B. canary
C. turkey
A
Iin forming a word meaning 'unable to be understood', using the Latin root -comprehens (ible), what prefix would you use? A. in B. un C. non D. sine
A
By changing the prefix, form the antonym (opposite) of: assent
dissent
By changing the prefix, give the antonym (opposite) of: complicate
explicate
An executor of a will is a male who is tasked with carrying out the wishes of the person who made the will. What is the title of a female who is tasked with carrying out the wishes of the dead person:
executrix
Give the word of Tamil origin which means ‘a social outcast’:
pariah
The original name of the movie ‘Invictus’ was “Rugby Glory’.
True
False
false
The Human Factor
Queen Elizabeth of England signs her name ‘Elizabeth R.’ What does the ‘R’ stand for?
Regina
Heroin, the highly addictive drug, was first put forward as a substance to cure opium and morphine addiction and later marketed as a non-addictive pain-killer.
True
False
true
An assiduous student is a lazy student.
True
False
false
means hard working
Give the plural of ‘alumnus’:
alumni
Give the English adjective which derives from the Latin phrase ‘dies mali (evil days)’:
dismal
What does the abbreviation/initialism a.m. stand for:
ante meridiem