# How good are you at etymology? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 31, 2005, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831 "2005-12-31T06:14:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/1 "2005-12-31T06:14:13Z")
Find out with [Etymologic](http://www.etymologic.com/)! I scored 8/10. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/2 "2005-12-31T06:27:12Z")
8/10 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/3 "2005-12-31T06:36:10Z")
7/10 twice. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/4 "2005-12-31T06:40:48Z")
3/10. I hereby submit my SDMB resignation. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/5 "2005-12-31T06:43:00Z")
I quit in disguest when I only got 1 right out of five. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/6 "2005-12-31T06:57:29Z")
Well, I got 4 of 4, then submitted an answer only to be greeted by a “This page cannot be displayed” message. So I started again and got 8 of 10. I knew about half, and used logic to narrow down the choices in the other questions. ---
**Author:** ![AThingWithFeathers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@AThingWithFeathers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AThingWithFeathers)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/7 "2005-12-31T07:02:23Z")
5/10. The only one I knew off the bat was the first one though. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/8 "2005-12-31T07:03:26Z")
6 of 10…I just wonder which were wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/9 "2005-12-31T07:04:02Z")
10/10, then 8/10. I am sure I got lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/10 "2005-12-31T07:04:48Z")
8/10, but I dispute their choice of including _typhoon_. The word not only comes from both Chinese and Greek, but from Arabic too, three words with coincidentally similar sounds and meanings that Arab sailors would hear during their travels, and they blended into one word. To say that one etymology is right and the other two are wrong misses the point. The question is illegitimate. I should have scored 8 out of 9. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/11 "2005-12-31T07:06:55Z")
10/10, then 9/10. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/12 "2005-12-31T07:17:32Z")
9/10 But after all, I used to read encyclopedias for fun as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![SleepyDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@SleepyDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SleepyDuck)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/13 "2005-12-31T09:00:42Z")
Ugh. 6/10. Back to the books. or just keep taking it 'til I get a better score 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PsychoWench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9a140/32.png) [@PsychoWench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsychoWench)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/14 "2005-12-31T09:52:51Z")
9/10 here, twice, and 10/10 once when almost all of the questions had to do with the occult. Rock! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/15 "2005-12-31T13:16:26Z")
6/10. I’m gonna try again. And I’m also gonna send the link around to everyone at the puzzle factory. ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/16 "2005-12-31T13:27:36Z")
6/10; pretty good, I think, considering I’d never heard most the words before. Knowing Latin seems to help. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/17 "2005-12-31T14:19:36Z")
6/10. There were only 2 that I really _knew_ – ketchup and tenterhooks – and the rest where just stabs in the dark. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/18 "2005-12-31T17:10:10Z")
Woot! 9 outta 10. From the “piss me off” file: It was the final one I got wrong…damn. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/19 "2005-12-31T17:19:41Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > 6 of 10…I just wonder which were wrong. After you submit each answer, it tells you if it was wrong at the top of the page. I got 6/10. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831/20 "2005-12-31T17:44:45Z")
9/10 (I missed “cardigan,” because the real answer sounds like something you’d get in an e-mail forward), which made me feel all good about myself, and then I did it again and got 6/10, wah. I must try again. 5/10. I think I’ll stop now before I lose _all_ my self-worth. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-at-etymology/337831.md?page=2)