3. Some English words have undergone changes in their spelling in order to conform more closely to their etymological roots.

For instance, the words 'doubt' and 'debt' used to be spelled differently. What letter was inserted into the original spelling of these words to signify they were derived from Latin? (Hint: The insertion didn't change the way the words were pronounced.)
Your Answer: b

The word 'doubt' was originally spelled 'dout', and was derived from the French word 'douter'. However, sometime in the late 15th or early 16th century, a 'b' was inserted into the word to indicate its connection to the Latin word 'dubitare'. Similarly, the word 'debt' was originally spelled 'det' or 'dette' (following the spelling from Old French), but over time writers and scholars began spelling it with a 'b' to indicate its origins to the Latin word 'debitum'. Only the spellings of these words were changed but not the pronunciations, so these insertions were silent. The same phenomenon can be observed in the insertion of the letter 's' in the spelling of 'island', which was an attempt to create a connection to the French word 'isle' and the Latin word 'insula', even though the word really came from the Middle English word 'iland', which in turn derived from the Norse word 'igland'.

4. The English language contains a high occurrence of silent letters, or letters which appear in the spelling of a word but which do not correspond to a sound in the pronunciation of the word. Which of these words is spelled with a silent 'c'?
Your Answer: indict

To 'indict' someone is to formally charge them as having committed a crime or wrongdoing. The word was originally 'enditen', but a 'c' was inserted so that the word would follow the spelling of the Vulgar Latin 'indictare' more closely. The insertion did not change the pronunciation of the word, however, so while the 'c' is pronounced in the 'dict' sequence of letters found in words like 'dictate', 'predict' and 'contradict', it is silent in 'indict'. Apart from indicating the origins of words, silent letters can also serve to indicate the pronunciation of other letters in a word. Witness how adding a silent 'e' to the end of 'hat' changes the pronunciation of the vowel sound in 'hate'. Not all silent letters started their lives out as silent, though. For instance, the 'k' in words like 'know', 'knit' and 'knight' used to be pronounced, just like the 'b' in words like 'lamb', 'bomb' and 'thumb', but the 'k' and 'b' in these words became silent over time.

5. Letters in the English alphabet often have to take on multiple duties by representing various different sounds. For example, the letter 'e' takes on four different sounds in the word 'reentered', including one silent letter. What notorious sequence of letters in the English language is capable of at least nine distinct sounds when used in the spelling of different words?
Your Answer: ough

The sequence 'augh' is sounded differently depending on the word in which it appears, such as the different pronunciations of 'laughter' and 'slaughter'. The 'omb' sequence is capable of at least three different pronunciations, as can be seen in words like 'comb', 'bomb' and 'tomb'. The 'ear' sequence of letters gives rise to even more unique variations, as evidenced by words like 'hear', 'bear', 'learn' and 'heart'. But none of these sequences of letters can even approach the variety of sounds attributable to 'ough', which supports at least nine different pronunciations in the English language: The word 'though' is pronounced to rhyme with 'toe'; 'tough' rhymes with 'cuff'; 'cough' rhymes with 'off'; 'plough' rhymes with 'cow'; while 'bought' rhymes with 'caught'. At the same time, 'through' rhymes with 'threw'; 'hough' is pronounced 'hock'; 'lough' is pronounced 'loch'; and 'hiccough' is pronounced 'hiccup'.

6. An abbreviation is a short or contracted form of a word that is usually (but not always) comprised of letters taken from the word in question. What letter replaces the word "Christ" in a common abbreviation for the word "Christmas"?
Your Answer: X

Abbreviations are often made up of letters taken from the word being abbreviated. For example, the word 'Boulevard' is often spelled 'Blvd' on street signs. In some cases, however, an abbreviation can consist of letters that are not found in the word being abbreviated. One well-known example is the unit of mass known as the pound, which is abbreviated to 'lb', from the Latin word 'libra', the ancient Roman unit of measurement from which the pound derives. Another familiar example is the abbreviation of 'Christmas' as 'Xmas', a practice which has sparked a fair bit of controversy. Some people view it as a heinous attempt to secularise Christmas, by literally taking the 'Christ' out of 'Christmas', while others are quick to point out that the 'X' in 'Xmas' has more to do with Christ than meets the eye. The 'X' is actually derived from the Greek letter Chi (, ), which is the first letter in 'Christs' (), the Greek word for 'Christ'. In fact, the symbol 'X' has been used as a Christogram (a symbol for Christ) since at least the 15th century. Still, many prefer to disregard the abbreviation and write out 'Christmas' in full, as a reminder of the true meaning of the holiday.

8. The English words 'love', 'come', 'some' and 'dove' were not always spelled with the letter 'o'. What letter did the 'o' replace in the Middle or Old English spelling of these words?
Your Answer: u

There are many examples of words in the English language that were originally spelled with a 'u' in the Old or Middle English periods, but which were revised over time to be spelled with the letter 'o' instead. One theory for this change is that it stemmed from the need to make these words easier to read. The prevailing style of manuscript writing during this period entailed some letters (among them 'i', 'u', 'n', 'm', 'w' and 'v') being written in a combination of short

downstrokes known as 'minims'. The problem arose when these letters appeared next to each other in a word, giving rise to a "forest of lines" that made it difficult for readers to tell where one letter ended and the other began. The substitution of an 'o' for a 'u' therefore arose out of a need to break up these minim clusters, so that readers could discern the vowels from the consonants in words that featured two or more minim letters grouped together. This is apparently the same reason a diacritic dot (known as a 'tittle') appears over the lowercase 'i' and 'j' in manuscript writing - to distinguish these letters from their neighbours.

9. The English language contains many words that are pronounced alike, but which have different meanings. What is the term for such words?
Your Answer: homophones

Homophones can be spelled the same, like the word 'bark', which can refer to the sound a dog makes, or the outside covering of a tree or other woody plant. More often, homophone pairs or sets are spelled differently, such as 'write', 'rite', 'right' and 'wright', or 'raise', 'rays' and 'raze', which are pronounced the same but have distinct spellings and meanings. Homophone confusion can give rise to inadvertently humorous situations, like the story of the schoolchild who once submitted an essay about Eugene O'Neill, the 1957 winner of a 'Pullet Surprise'. Even professional writers need to take care to avoid the dangers of homophone confusion. The 1977 edition of "The United Press International Stylebook", a popular style and usage guide for writers and editors, contained the following advisory on the importance of distinguishing homophones: "A 'burro' is an ass. A 'burrow' is a hole in the ground. As a journalist you are expected to know the difference."

10. In order to demonstrate the inherent inconsistencies and absurdities in English spelling and pronunciation, proponents of English spelling reform often cite the made-up word 'ghoti' as a possible respelling of another, more common word. What word does 'ghoti' apparently spell?
Your Answer: fish

According to some, 'ghoti' can be a legitimate respelling of the word 'fish', if the letters take on the pronunciations in these words: 'gh' from 'laugh'; 'o' from 'women'; and 'ti' from 'nation'. However, critics are quick to point out that the suggested pronunciation of 'ghoti' is fallacious at best, since the digraph 'gh' is never used to represent an 'f' sound at the start of a word, just as 'ti' is never used to represent the 'sh' sound at the end of a word. 'Ghoti' is often attributed to playwright George Bernard Shaw, himself a well-known advocate of English spelling reform, but scholars and even Shaw's own biographers have been unable to find any evidence that Shaw was responsible for the Frankensteinian creation. It remains an amusing demonstration of the bizarre nature of the English language. Interesting fact: In the constructed Klingon language for the "Star Trek" universe, the Klingon word for 'fish' is actually 'ghoti'.

1. This word, a synonym for graveyard, has its origins in the Latin
word coemtrium and the Greek word koimtrion, meaning "a sleeping place." cematery cemetary cemetery sematary

2. How do you spell the word which has various meanings

including "to oblige" and "to provide with a room"? acomodate acommodate accommodate accomodate

3. This word, which means "grossly irreverent toward what is held

to be sacred", is often misspelled due to its association with a more common term. sacrelegious sacrilegious sacreligious sacriligious

4. This word, meaning "steady persistence in a course of action" is

often mispronounced, leading to incorrect spellings.

perseverance perseverence perserverance persaverance

5. Defined as "to cause confusion and shame to" or "make

uncomfortably self-conscious." embarass embbarass embarras embarrass

6. Another commonly misspelled word due to variant

minature miniature miniture minnature

pronunciations, this word means "in reduced size or scale".

7. Meaning "from time to time" or "now and then", how do you

spell this commonly misspelled word? occassionally ocassionally

ocasionally occasionally

8. One definition of this word is "to place in a mental institution or

hospital" as in "he was _____ to Bellevue due to severe mental illness". comited commited committed comitted

9. Unless you've actually seen this name for the flower native to

Mexico, Euphorbia pulcherrima, it can be very difficult to spell. The red variety is commonly seen during Christmas time. pointsetta pointseta pointsettia poinsettia

10. "I am pleased to make your _____." Please spell the word that
fills in the blank and which means "a person known to one, but usually not a close friend." acquaintance acquaintence

aquaintance acquaitance

11. Please don't get sick or queasy trying to spell this word often
synonymous with the first trimester of pregnancy. nauseaous nauseous naustious nausious

12. Those of you from Egypt should be able to spell this word used
as the title for ancient kings. phaoroh pharoah pharaoh pharoh

13. My grandmother just turned 70 years old, so she qualifies to be

called a _______ with regards to her new age. septuagenarian septagenarien septagenarian septgenarian

14. You might call me this word, a synonym for cleverly inventive,
for writing such a creative quiz. ingenius ingeneous ingenous ingenious

15. How about a science term for all your meteorologists out there.
How do you spell the temperature scale we use in the United States where water freezes at 32 degrees? Farhrenheit Farenheit Fahrenheit Fairenheit