quiz

Etymology

Its origin is unknown.^[2][3][4][5] The earliest noun, an odd or eccentric person, is first found in 1780, apparently as university slang.^[3][6] Green's Dictionary of Slang suggests Latin quis (“who?”), and Etymonline and Barnhart propose that the verb "to question" comes from the Latin question quī es (“who are you?”), said to open oral examinations in Latin grammar schools.^[6][7][8] The OED and the Oxford Dictionary of English derive the questioning senses from the older word, influenced by inquisitive.^[3][9] Weekley thought it an arbitrary formation, like quoz, used in a similar sense at the same time.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

An odd or eccentric person, of peculiar appearance: 1780, in a text that claims to be written from Oxford.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the late 18th century quiz was also a toy like a yo-yo (1792 to 1833), a practical joke or hoax (1795), and a person who mocks or teases (1797); the verb meant to make fun of someone (1787) and to stare at mockingly (1795), through a quizzing-glass or monocle.^[3][11] Jane Austen still uses the "odd person" sense in Northanger Abbey.^[12] The idea of close inspection led to "to question, interrogate", recorded from a1843, and in North America to testing a class (1866) and a quiz, a short test (1867).^[3] The quiz as a game or broadcast entertainment dates from 1929.^[3] In dialect, from Scotland and Ireland to Westmorland, Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire and Somerset, to quiz was to ask prying questions.^[13]

Timeline

• 1780 – noun, an eccentric person.^[3]
• 1787 – verb, to make fun of.^[3]
• 1792 – a toy like a yo-yo (until 1833).^[3]
• 1795 – a practical joke; to peer at mockingly.^[3]
• 1847 – quies, to examine orally.^[7][8]
• 1866 – (North America) to test a class.^[3]
• 1867 – a short test in school.^[3][8]
• 1929 – a question game as entertainment.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A game or competition in which people answer questions to test their knowledge, often on radio or television.
2. (chiefly North America) A short test given to students.
3. (archaic) An odd or eccentric person.
4. (archaic) A practical joke or hoax.

Verb

1. To question someone closely: Reporters quizzed the minister about the leak.
2. (chiefly North America) To give students a quiz.
3. (archaic) To make fun of; to look at mockingly.

Word family

• quizzer
• quizzable
• quizmaster
• quizzical
• quiz kid
• pop quiz

Related words

• inquisitive

Usage notes

A popular story says that quiz was invented by a Dublin theatre manager named Daly, who bet that he could make a meaningless word known throughout the city within a day or two by having it chalked on walls; no evidence supports it.^{[9][14][5][15]} A separate, imitative quiz meant to make a whirring sound (1866).^[3]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
6. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
11. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
13. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
14. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
15. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.