WORDS WORTH KNOWING: QUIZ
You might have found out which Harry Potter house you belong to and which Game of Thrones character you identify with thanks to a Quiz. These informal social media tests have popularized the word Quiz. However, the history of the word still remains a mystery to many − even to those who have studied it! This word seems to have originated in different places almost simultaneously.
Come with me to unveil the mystery (or try it) after these definitions.
Dictionary Definition
Quiz: Noun. A test of knowledge, especially as a competition between individuals or teams as a form of entertainment. (Oxford English Dictionary)
Quiz: Noun. [North American] An informal short written test or examination given to students. (Oxford English Dictionary)
Quiz: Verb. To ask someone questions about something. (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)
As much as we like to take a Quiz, it’s not something we do every day, so it’s a word used occasionally. According to the Collins English Dictionary, Quiz is part of the 30,000 most commonly used words in our language.
To learn how to use this word correctly you don’t need to pass a Quiz.
Here are some examples:
−”A new quiz from TIME uses scientific data to match you with a main character on Game of Thrones, and with your consent, your answers can benefit the psychologists who helped create it.”
From Mental Floss website Article: A Game of Thrones Quiz Is Helping Psychologists Learn More About How People Respond to Ethical Dilemmas. 2019
−”She said the objectives of the quiz were to get people excited about science and maths, to get the schools to compete in a healthy manner and to improve the study of science and maths in the country.”
From Ghana Web website Article: We have valued degrees for too long. 2019
−”On the back of a damning UN report which painted a grim future for the planet’s species, Jimmy Kimmel decided to quiz strangers if they care about the extinction of homo sapiens.”
From Mashable website Article: Jimmy Kimmel asks people about if they care about the extinction of ‘homo sapiens’. 2019
Between bettings and mockings
Welcome to this battle for the title of inventor of the word “Quiz”. In one corner we have Richard Daly, the manager of the Theatre Royal in Dublin around the lates 1700’s. In the other corner we have the wealthiest students of Cambridge University during the same period. Who will be the winner? Whoever wins this fight was a bit out of his mind. This is because the meanings that the word Quiz had when they invented it were so nonsensical that today they are considered archaic and obsolete.
Now let’s hear the bell!
Round One: Quiz, the ancient version of Nerd
The battle began in the mid-seventeenth century. Grammar Schools are being standardized around England and North America. These are schools specifically designed to prepare young boys to enter university. Although they were open to the general public, only wealthy families could afford to send their children to these schools. In these schools the main subject was the Latin language, since at that time most of the textbooks for any career that one wished to study were in Latin.
Later, by the 18th century, much of the textbooks had been translated into English. It was no longer a prerequisite to attend Grammar Schools in order to enter university. Even so wealthy families continued to send their male children to these schools as a form of preparation.
This led to great inequality among university students. The wealthy arrived with a strong knowledge base, while the less wealthy had to spend day and night studying in order to keep pace. Thus, the latter became the mockery of the former. Among Cambridge university students the favorite mockery was the Latin phrase Qui es? which means “Who are you?”. It was the first question on the Grammar Schools Latin oral exams, but something totally unknown to the disoriented resource-poor students.
Continuous repetition for mockery made Qui es transform into Quis, and later into Quiz. Thus around 1790 it was the term for nerds, odd persons, or square minded persons.
Round Two: Quiz, A hoax written on your door
It’s Richard Daly’s turn, who was pretty cunning and liked to use that attribute to win bets.
On the evening of Saturday, August 21, 1791 Daly bet against a group of wits and distinguished men that he could manage to standardize the use of a word completely invented by him in less than 48 hrs, without speaking of that word to anyone. The other men underestimated Daly and played along.
That night Daly went to his theatre, the theatre Royal, and wrote on a dozen cards the first word he could invent: “Quiz”. Then he gave those cards to all the call-boys, scene-shifters and other inferior employees, along with several pieces of chalk, and asked them to transcribe what was written on the card to all the doors and walls of the city that they could until dawn.
The next morning, all the citizens of Dublin who left their homes for the market or Sunday Mass found the word “Quiz” written on their front doors, alleys and building facades. No one knew the meaning of this word, nor did they understand why it was written everywhere, so a stream of commentary was unleashed throughout the city and spread over weeks.
Every person in Dublin knew and used the word “Quiz” in less than 48 hours, as Daly promised, and when finally all the people agreed that no one knew the meaning or motive of the word written in chalk, they assumed that it was a hoax, and this is how the word Quiz was adopted in our language as a term for hoax, trick, humbug or joke.
Richard Daly won his bet, of course. What a scoundrel!
Round 3: Quiz, back to the questions!
No matter how hard the two competitors hit, in the absence of evidence this battle is tied. The real winner is a third competitor who explains how the word Quiz went from being a mockery or a hoax to being a test or an interrogation:
With the passing of the years the two original meanings fell into disuse. When 20th century people read the word “Quiz” in the old newspapers and books they linked it to the words inquisitive and inquisition. Therefore a quiz should refer to a group of questions.
It is certainly a cause for joy. At last after three attempts, we could agree on one and only meaning for the word Quiz. And it is a coherent one!
