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quiz
[kwiz] 
noun, plural quiz⋅zes, verb, quizzed, quiz⋅zing.–noun
| 1. | an informal test or examination of a student or class. |
| 2. | a questioning. |
| 3. | a practical joke; a hoax. |
| 4. | Chiefly British. an eccentric, often odd-looking person. |
–verb (used with object)
| 5. | to examine or test (a student or class) informally by questions. |
| 6. | to question closely: The police quizzed several suspects. |
| 7. | Chiefly British. to make fun of; ridicule; mock; chaff. |
Origin:
1775–85 in sense “odd person”; 1840–50 for def. 1; orig. uncert.
1775–85 in sense “odd person”; 1840–50 for def. 1; orig. uncert.
Related forms:
quiz⋅za⋅ble, adjective
quizzer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
|
Link To quizzes
| quiz (kwĭz) tr.v. quizzed, quiz·zing, quiz·zes
[Origin unknown.] quiz'zer n. Word History: The origins of the word quiz are as difficult to pin down as the answers to some quizzes. We can say that its first recorded sense has to do with people, not tests. The term, first recorded in 1782, meant "an odd or eccentric person." From the noun in this sense came a verb meaning "to make sport or fun of" and "to regard mockingly." In English dialects and probably in American English the verb quiz acquired senses relating to interrogation and questioning. This presumably occurred because quiz was associated with question, inquisitive, or perhaps the English dialect verb quiset, "to question" (probably itself short for obsolete inquisite, "to investigate"). From this new area of meaning came the noun and verb senses all too familiar to students. The second recorded instance of the noun sense occurs in the writings of no less an educator than William James, who in a December 26, 1867, letter proffers the hope that "perhaps giving 'quizzes' in anatomy and physiology . . . may help along." |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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