Word Origins : Trivia Quiz

Gokul43201

Word Origins :

[Warning : Some material here may be objectionable to minors ]

RULES :

1. No Googling

2. IMPORTANT : Each person is allowed to guess only ONE answer (ONE answer total; not one per question)...unless I inform you otherwise.


Please read the rules again....thank you !

In the following questions I describe the the etymological basis of a present day word/phrase/slang term. You have to guess the word. Typically, the solution is quite easily derivable from the question (without requiring any mastery over Greek & Latin).

Here we go...

Q1) A little over 400 years ago, this bird, native to Africa, was first imported to England, via Constantinople. The qualities of the bird, however, had been known since the times of Aristotle and Pliny, who had both praised it heartily.

Q2) This word was coined by the Czech playwright (for the play titled R.U.R), Karel Capek, and is derived from the Slavik word for laborer or peasant.

Q3) The ancients believed that of all things required for the support of human life, salt was the most important. Whenever a Roman soldier was sent to a foreign land, he was given, over and above his regular pay, an amount of money for the purchase of salt. What word is derived from this ?

Q4) The Nizaris were a sub-sect of Shi'ite Muslims from around the 12th Century AD. Operating out mountain forts, they engaged in a long campaign of murdering numerous Sunni officials of the Abbasid and Seljuk Dynasties. The members of the sect were promised eternal paradise - by the leader - in return for martyrdom. To enhance the appeal of this promise, they were given hashish (a hallucinogen from the cannabis family), before being ordered out on missions. This word comes from a byname for the Nizaris.

Q5) The Bogomils were a heretical movement that first flowered in the Balkans in the mid-tenth century, and were considered a serious threat to religious orthodoxy. At the time, all heretics were accused of sexual deviance, whether or not the accusation was justified - and the Bogomils soon became labeled as deviants. What word comes from Bulgar (pronounced bull-gahr, this was the region that is now the country, Bulgaria) ?

Q6) This one's straight : What word is derived from the Irish Uisce Beatha meaning 'water of life' ?

Q7) During WWII, Lt. Col. Evan Carlson, an admirer of the Chinese work ethic, set up what he called _______ meetings, for his own troops. This term is derived from the Chinese word for 'working together', which was a popular communist motto at the time.

Q8) What word owes its origin to this Civil War General ? <see attached picture, ARB.BMP>

Get crackin'...

Attached Images

ARB.bmp (15.6 KB, 20 views)

BobG

#2 is 'robot'. I took beginning Russian lessons once and thought it interesting that their word for work was robotal. It was quite a few years later that I found it wasn't just a coincidence. Doh!

Gokul43201

Good 'un, BobG.

Robot it is, from the verb robotal (I'm not going to try Cyrillic scripts here, thank you) or the noun robotnik.

Q2 is done, and so is Bob.

LURCH

The pic for #8 doesn't come up yet, but I think the officer to whom you refer is General Hooker?

Adam

Hmph. Okay, Q4: Assassin.

Gokul43201

No, it's not Hooker, though that's a good guess. But I'll let you have ONE more chance, on any question of your choice (since the attachment was not ready yet).

Give the admins time to approve the pic. Don't guess until you see it...else you risk forfeiting an opportunity on a blind guess.

Gokul43201

Adam, please read the rules, and edit your post to show only one answer (pick your best) - perhaps folks haven't seen this yet, so it's not too late.

Perhaps I wasn't clear before. I've edited the rules to remove any doubt.


PS : Thanks for the edit, Adam.

Nereid

#7 gung ho, from the Mandarin 'gonghe', literally 'work(ing) together'. However, my guess is that it's from a southern dialect, possibly Cantonese or Fujianese. Also, the 'communist' reference may be to an abbreviation, referring to the first two characters of 'Industrial Cooperative' (gongye hezuoshe) - there's an interesting history of this.

Adam

I can't believe I got "Kung Pow" wrong... Lying damn cow...

Gokul43201

Nereid <Oriental Expert> is right on Q7 !! It is Gung-ho...hard luck Adam !

Let's hear the history, Nereid...or a link to it would work too.

Moonbear

Q3, I'm guessing salary.
It would make sense. Next time you think you're getting paid peanuts, remember it's really only the salt on the peanuts

DarkEternal

i've read that it was actually karel capek's brother who gave him the idea for the word.

as for Q3, i believe the answer is salary (salarium)

edit: blast, left the window open for too long

jcsd

5. Bugger. Subsects of the Bogumils encouraged the laity to live pretty hedonistic lifestyles, but apprently the accusations of 'buggery' were against the priestly class known as the 'perfecti' (spelling?) who led a celibate and very sober lifestyles.

Gokul43201

Correct Moonbear !

The 'salt money' was known as salarium (Lat.) from sal, meaning salt.

Correct jcsd...'bugger' it is ! I was hoping to see someone guess 'vulgar' first. Or would that have been too obvious to be right ?

Q3, Q4, Q5 and Q7 are done.
And Adam, Nereid, jcsd and Moonbear may rest until (and if) I announce a free-for-all.

HINT : One of the questions has a loaded clue in it, which is really a double-edged clue - it helps with another question too.

Gokul43201

DarkEternal, you're still open...your guess doesn't count (though it has been noted) so you get another turn.

Gokul43201

The Bogomil priests (and also the Cathars, an offshoot of the Bogomils) were known for leading an exemplary lifestyle - even members of the Church have repeatedly admitted to this.

But Pope Innocent (some number or the other) decided to go ahead and have them all killed, anyway ! Ah the Crusades...what a fun time !!

DarkEternal

i'll say Q6 is whiskey, guessing from the way it looks to be pronounced