Word Origins Flashcards
$200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This adjective that can mean disrespectful or lively is an alteration of “saucy”
sassy
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This, from Middle French for “small ball”, is stronger than the bullet, which is from modern French for “small ball”
the ballot
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| First appearing more than a century ago, it means gutsy & is probably a blend of bold & audacious
bodacious
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This 19th century 2-wheeled cab was named for a Brit, not for its good looks
a Hansom cab
$1000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This nickname for paper measuring 13 by 16 inches gets its name from an old watermark of a court jester’s hat
foolscap
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Arabic for “sign of god”, it’s a high-ranking Muslim cleric regarded as the most learned of the time period
ayatollah
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This small scented pouch takes its name from the French for “little bag”
a sachet
$1200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| My gardener told me we don’t need to plant; all my flowers are this type, from the Latin for “through the year”
perennial
$1600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This term for a type of airship is from the Latin for “to direct”
a dirigible
$3000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Italian for “of a cave”, this adjective today refers to anything strange or ugly
grotesque
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word for a friend comes from the Latin for “with whom you would eat bread”
companion
$200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Aka hump day, it was named for a Norse god
Wednesday
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The Persian shaghal gave us the name of this dog-like African carnivore & scavenger
the jackal
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The word “drama” comes from the Greek for this verb, which as a noun also means one section of a drama
act
$3000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Peevish or unreasonably irritable, it’s from the Latin petere, meaning “to assail”
petulant
$1000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this gum tree comes from the Greek kaluptein, or “cover”, & it covers more than 500 species
the eucalyptus
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Scallop & scaloppine come from a word meaning these; the fillets are so thin they curl up like them
shells
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The verb “to pounce” comes from a noun meaning this part of a bird of prey
talons (or claws)
$1200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| (<a>Kelly of the Clue Crew shows a line of poetry on the monitor.</a>) A natural break or pause in a line of poetry is called a “caesura”; the “caes” part comes from the Latin for this verb, as in “excise”
cut
$1600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The French for “to throw” gives us this word for a pier
a jetty
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Older baling equipment would malfunction & tangle, a possible origin of this word for crazy or disordered
haywire
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This dog, of which there are more than 20 breeds, takes its name from the Latin for “earth”
a terrier
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this ballroom dance with gliding turns comes from German for “roll” or “turn”
a waltz
$1200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word for the art & science of good eating goes back to Greek for “belly”
gastronomy
$1600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This term for a novice or beginner is from Latin & Greek for “newly planted”
a neophyte
$4000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Murray Gell-Mann adopted this word for various hypothetical particles from “Finnegan’s Wake”
quarks
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This 4-letter term for a religious group that holds distinctive beliefs comes from the Latin for “follow”
a sect
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Like the name of a minor Roman god, this word for a caretaker comes from the Latin for “door”
janitor
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| No surprise here–the name of this birthstone is from the Latin for “red”
ruby
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this leader of a Jewish congregation is from the Hebrew for “my master”
rabbi
$1200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Latin for “to come to mind”, it’s a memento that you might buy as a reminder of a place you visited
souvenir
$1600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word for a large piece of artillery comes from the Italian for “great tube”
cannon
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Meaning tearful & foolishly sentimental, it comes from Magdalene, as in Mary Magdalene
maudlin
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The X in this holiday spelling comes from the Greek letter chi & also represents the cross
Xmas
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Norwegian for “to pull by hair”, this 3-letter word means to carry with effort, or a blockhead
lug
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This skilled army job may have been named for a bird because soldiers tested their rifle accuracy by shooting them
a sniper
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word for a distinguishing mark of office or honor comes from the Latin for “badge”
insignia
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Before its use in journalism, it meant a boundary beyond which straying prisoners would be shot
deadline
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This adjective meaning deceptive or sneaky is from the Latin de via, meaning “out of the way”
devious
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This New York island’s name may come from the Algonquian word for “island”
Manhattan
$4800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This compass direction may come from the Proto-Germanic for “to the left of the rising sun”
north
$1600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Latin for “much writing”, it’s another name for a lie detector test
a polygraph
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| A type of ear implant to help the deaf, it’s from the Greek for “snail”
cochlear
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this branch of mathematics comes from the Arabic for “reuniting”
algebra
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Some things named after this scientist are a unit of force, a fluid, some “rings” & the laws of motion
(Sir Isaac) Newton
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From Old French for “young hen”, it’s the term for domestic fowl in general
poultry
$1200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word for a passenger vehicle comes from the word for the meter that calculates payment
a taxi
$1600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The word for this public place comes from the Roman word for tree bark, which was used as writing material
library
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word came from a European people who were often conquered & in servitude during the Middle Ages
slave
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word for desirable places like the Garden of Eden is from the Persian for “walled around”
paradise
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this type of singing group that performs without instrumental accompaniment is from the Italian
a cappella
$1200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This dangerous river reptile’s name is from the Greek for “pebble” & “worm”
crocodile
$5400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This adjective that means “behaving disobediently or mischievously” comes from the Old English for “nothing”
naughty
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Latin, it once meant “one living on the opposite bank of a stream from another”; now it means “opponent”
rival
$200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This part of an egg gets its name from the Old English for “yellow”
the yolk
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This season gets its name from the Sanskrit for “half year”
summer
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The opposite of nadir, it’s from the Arabic for “road above”
zenith
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this element is from the Latin word for “lime”, the chemical kind
calcium
$1000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this musical instrument comes from Greek words for “wood” and “voice”
the xylophone
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Lettuce tell you the term “salad” comes from the French salade, meaning with this seasoning
salt
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Dutch for “a twisted cake”, it’s a twisted doughnut
a cruller
$1200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Derived from the Latin word for “body”, it’s used to describe a large or bulky person
corpulent
$1600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Greek for “generalship”, it’s a plan of action, like those employed by the military
a strategy
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Old French for “man”, it’s a special honor expressed publicly for a person
homage
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This other term for a pastor is derived from the Middle Latin word persona
parson
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this fine, soft leather is the French word for Sweden; Sweden was famous for gloves made of it
suede
$1200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word for a blob or lump, perhaps of whipped cream, may come from dolpur, Icelandic for “fat man”
dollop
$1600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Esteban knows this term for someone who loads a ship’s cargo comes from the Spanish word estibador
stevedore
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Italian word for bell, it’s the 9-letter term for a bell tower like the Venetian one seen <a>here</a>
campanile
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| It’s from the Latin for “hemp” because it was often made of hemp; add a letter & it means to take a survey
canvas
$200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this, also called a fireplug, is partly from a word for “water”
a hydrant
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this bread spread goes all the way back to bous, a Greek word for “cow”
butter
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| These sparkly fake gems are partly named for a river that flows through Germany
rhinestones
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this type of reference work is from the Greek for “cyclical” (i.e., well-rounded) & “education”
an encyclopedia
$1000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This 5-letter synonym of “question” comes from the Latin for “to ask” or “to seek”
a query
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The Keebler Elves could probably tell you that the name of this snack comes from a Dutch word for “small cake”
a cookie
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Maple or otherwise, this thick, sweet liquid is from the Arabic for “to drink”
syrup
$1200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| 1st used in a novel about 90 years ago, it refers to a bright person, not someone who resembles Humpty Dumpty
an egghead
$1600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this type of aircraft is from 2 Greek words meaning “spiral wing”
a helicopter
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The term “funny bone” is actually a pun on the name of this upper arm bone
the humerus
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This highest natural singing voice for women is Italian for “what is above”
soprano
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This wood-eating insect gets its name from the Latin for “wood-eating worm”
a termite
$1200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This ground-meat sandwich gets its name from a German port city
a hamburger
$1600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word for a kind of land mass comes from a word meaning “to contain”
continent
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This term for a leading character of a literary work comes from the Greek for “first combatant”
protagonist
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Old French for a soldier sent ahead to clear the way, today it refers to the first settlers of a region
pioneers
$200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of these bones that form the spinal column comes partly from a word meaning “to turn”
vertebrae
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This, a personal view or belief, comes from the Old French for “to think”
an opinion
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this class of cold-blooded creatures comes from a word for “to creep”
the reptile
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This dog breed’s name comes from a German word for “to splash about”
the poodle
$1000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Appropriately, this adjective that means the giving of one’s name to something comes from the Greek for “giving name”
eponymous
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word for an action that could cause you to fail a class comes from the Latin for “kidnap”
plagiarism
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Named for a Mediterranean country, this style of typography is based on a Renaissance script
italics
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Well known to “Jeopardy!” fans, this 10-letter word originally meant a stew of many different ingredients
hodgepodge
$200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This kind of dummy often displays women’s clothes, though its name comes from the Dutch for “little man”
mannequin
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| (<a>Sarah of the Clue Crew helps with an image on a monitor.</a>) The pair of Greek letters seen here inspired this eight-letter English word that’s a cornerstone of the English language
alphabet
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This musical instrument’s name may be influenced by “hurly-burly”, a Scots word meaning “uproar”.
hurdy-gurdy
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This type of tower is usually seen in Asia, but its name comes from a Portuguese word for “temple”
pagoda
$1000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this almond paste confection is derived in part from an Italian word for “candy box”
marzipan
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Meaning to ascribe predetermined characteristics, this word comes from a printing process using metal plates
stereotype
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Appropriately, this word comes from Greek words meaning “sharp” & “dull”
oxymoron
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the name of a committee created by Gregory XV to spread the faith, it means info used to spread a belief
propaganda
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| If you’re schussing around on these, remember that their name comes from old Norse for “sticks”
skis
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The minute you walked in the joint, you knew the name of this body part was from the old English “elnboga”
elbow
$1200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| It’s no Greek myth: this big South American bird was probably named for the wife of Cronus
the rhea
$1600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word for what one often does to red wine before serving comes from a Latin word for an iron ring
decant
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this greenish patina that forms on copper comes from Old French for “green of Greece”
verdigris
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The word “toxic” comes from the ancient Greek for this weapon
an arrow
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word regarding infidelity came from a certain bird leaving its eggs in other nests to be raised
cuckold
$200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This lawn weed’s name comes from the old French for “tooth of the lion”, referring to its sharply indented leaves
a dandelion
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word for a self-service restaurant evolved from the Spanish for “coffee shop”
a cafeteria
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Latin for “within the walls”, it refers to athletic contests among students within a school
intramural
$1800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Originally one who kept legal records for the crown, now it’s a public officer who investigates deaths
a coroner
$1000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this foamy volcanic rock is an alteration of the Latin word meaning “foam”
pumice
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word that has come to mean “sudden prosperity” means “good weather” in Spanish
bonanza
$200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of these seeds probably goes all the way back to samassammu, Akkadian for “oil plant”
sesame seeds
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This fox-hunting cry may be an alteration of taiaut, a French cry used in deer hunting
tally-ho
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| A Middle English variant of “plait” became the name of these folds found on skirts
pleat
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| A Greek word for “sailor” gave us the name of this “chambered” sea creature
nautilus
$1000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This term for a minor engagement in war traces its origins back to the old Italian word scaramuccia
a skirmish
$None ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word meaning “complete range” comes from the 3rd Greek letter, which used to be the low end of the musical scale
gamut
$200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This common term for a weak, ineffectual person may be derived from “whimper”
wimp
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word said to sled dogs may be an alteration of the French marchons, meaning “let’s go”
mush
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Billingsgate, a term for foul language, comes from the name of an old fish market in this world capital
London
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Latin for “mother”, it’s a female prison worker who may be less than maternal
matron
$1000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Take a whirl on the dance floor under these lights whose name comes from the Greek for the “act of whirling”
strobe lights
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Seen <a>here</a>, these flowers got their name from the French for “to think”
pansies
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Latin for “earth”, it’s any of several types of small dogs bred to hunt animals underground in burrows
a terrier
$1200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Perhaps from the Caribbean taino for “pipe for smoking”, it’s the dried leaves of a plant of the nightshade family
tobacco
$1600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From Old French for “catch” or “entangle”, it’s to accuse a serving government official with an offense
impeach
$2000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Latin for “uplifted”, it’s to divert energy associated with an unacceptable activity into more acceptable areas
sublimate
$200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The English borrowed this Tongan word for “forbidden” & made it a noun referring to the prohibition itself
taboo
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name for this type of worker comes from the Latin for “lead worker”
plumber
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word used in Roman Catholic theology comes from the Latin for “edge” or “border” not “dance”
limbo
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| (<a>Sarah of the Clue Crew reports from Naxos, Greece.</a>) Ostraka, <a>broken pieces of pottery used as ballots</a> to recommend exile gave us this word for banishment
ostracism
$1000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This word for a prolonged state of sadness comes from the Greek for “black bile” (once thought to be it’s cause)
melancholy
$200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This light wood gets its name from the Spanish for “raft” because people in the tropics have used its logs for rafts
balsa
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The gigantic statue at Rhodes, one of the 7 ancient wonders, gave us this adjective meaning gigantic
colossal
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Originally used to designate an errand boy, it was introduced into Scotland by golfer Mary, Queen of Scots
a caddy
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The Greek word “iota” gave us this 3-letter word that means to write down hastily
jot
$1000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| They got their name from the wooden sandals worn by the French court to protect shoes on rainy days
galoshes
$200 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| A masterful conductor is often called this, Italian for “master”
maestro
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| The name of this bird is from the French version of Peter
parrot
$600 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Make no bones about it, it’s from a Greek expression for “dried-up body”
skeleton
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This Austrian physicist’s name is now synonymous with a measurement of the speed of sound
(Ernst) Mach
$1000 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| This 3-letter slang term for forbid or veto comes to us from the German for “nothing”
nix
$400 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| Whether it’s a problem in the eye or a waterfall, it’s from the Greek for “to dash down”
cataract
$800 ||| Category: WORD ORIGINS ||| From the Italian for “bench”, it’s a sumptuous feast given in someone’s honor
banquet
