English is a remarkable language. It's so easy to learn and understand that it's little wonder it's the most "international" language, taking the place of French. Part of why it's so comfortable is that it borrows so many of its words from other languages. Indeed English is a composite language, and many of the words we say today actually started in another language altogether, some ancient, some more recent. Having borrowed from so many different languages, it can be quite difficult sometimes to know what the true origins of the word are. In this quiz, we're going to ask you to choose the language you believe the English word originated from. Are you ready to put your etymological knowledge to the test?
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Latin word for Belly.
Latin
Old French
Germanic
Hindi
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Hindi word 'Chita' - Variegated (exhibiting different colors).
Latin
Finnish
Greek
Hindi
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Greek word 'Sarkazein' - to cut off flesh.
Latin
Old French
Germanic
Greek
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the French word for a workman's smock.
Latin
French
German
Italian
From what language does this English word originate from?
From Latin 'Aequus' - even, level.
Latin
Old French
Germanic
Greek
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Sanskrit word 'Jangala' - uncultivated land.
Hebrew
Germanic
Sanskrit
Latin
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Greek words meaning Lizard and Terrible - a terrible lizard.
Latin
Old French
Germanic
Greek
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Latin word 'Angulus' - corner.
Latin
Old French
Germanic
Greek
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Hindi-Urdu word 'Thagi' - thief, con man.
Latin
Hindi
Hebrew
French
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Greek word for transfer.
Latin
Hindi
Hebrew
Greek
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Hebrew word 'Meshiach'.
Italian
Sanskrit
Hebrew
Hungarian
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Latin word 'Anima' - life.
Old French
Swedish
Latin
Hindi
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Gaelic word 'Krros' - a two wheeled war chariot.
Latin
Germanic
Old French
Sanskrit
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Hindistani word 'Champo' - rub.
French
Hindi
Germanic
Latin
From what language does this English word originate from?
From the Greek word for wandering.
Latin
Sanskrit
Indian
Greek
Low Score
Oops! Don't worry, nobody expects anyone to know the roots for all these English words. After all, it doesn't change the way we use them. We hope you've learned a bit though and enjoyed the challenge! You can either try again or look at the results to see where you went wrong.
Not bad! You may not be a linguist but you sure as heck know some obscure etymology of English words. That is rare knowledge to have these days and we're so impressed you still have it in your head!
My oh my. We thought we had you, we really did. We thought this was a hard quiz. But wow, did you prove us wrong! Or maybe it's just hard for everyone else and you are a linguist in disguise. Either way, you aced this quiz and proved you truly know your etymology. We're incredibly proud of you!
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