Word Quiz

Hi Folks,

Here are the answers for the Word Quiz that I sent across earlier:

What is a 'Vomitorium' used for?
A passageway to the rows of seats in a theatre.
Etymology: Vomitoria (the plural form) in ancient amphitheaters helped the audience reach their seats and also move out quickly. At the end of the performance, of course. The erroneous meaning "place where ancient Romans (allegedly) deliberately vomited during feasts" is attested from 1923.

‘Schadenfreude' (shahd-n-froi-duh) is a German word that has been borrowed by the English language. What does it mean?
Delight at the misfortune of others
Etymology: Schaden = harm + Freude = joy
This is one word that I absolutely love. It captures in one single word the almost universal tendency to be happy when others don’t do well. Almost universal because I don’t suffer from it. I only feel benevolence toward my fellow human beings……. ;-)


What does the term 'Moon-child' mean?
A person born under the zodiacal sign of Cancer. So called because of the astrological pairing of the moon with Cancer


Define ‘Petrichor’.
The pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell.
Etymology: From the Greek petro (rock) + ichor (the fluid that is supposed to flow in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology). This is a coined term. It was coined by two Australian researchers, I.J. Bear and R.G. Thomas, in 1964 for an article in the journal ‘Nature’.

What does the Latin term ‘sine qua non’ mean?
An indispensable condition; prerequisite.
Etymology: without which not.

A round of applause to the folks who got all the questions right. Here is the list of those who did that:
Chery
Ankita Shah
Shikha
Msrm
Meet
Roshini D'Silva
Abdul Rashid Shaikh
Nitish Kaushal
Namrata ojha
Sudip
Neharika chopra

Until we meet again,

Ciao
Gautam