12-Letter Words Quiz

Question: A kleptomaniac compulsively does what?

Answer: Kleptomania often involves stealing things of little monetary value or use. Physicians have diagnosed people with kleptomania since the early 19th century.

Question: Which of these words originated as a word for the kick of a mule or a horse?

Answer: A recalcitrant person can be as stubborn as a mule. Ancient Romans used the Latin word recalcitrare to mean “to kick back,” an action closely linked with obstinate animals.

Question: Which of these words can be traced to a Latin word meaning “boil”?

Answer: Used to describe fizzy drinks, such as champagne or soda, or similarly bubbly personalities, effervescent comes from the Latin fervescere, meaning “to begin to boil.”

Question: A person who vociferously supports a political candidate will do which of the following?

Answer: Vociferously can be traced back to the Latin word vociferari, combining vox (“voice”) and ferre (“to carry”).

Question: Which of these activities should you expect a somnambulist to do?

Answer: Somnambulism is generally synonymous with sleepwalking but can also refer to other motor actions while asleep.

Question: Which of these instruments most resembles a glockenspiel?

Answer: Xylophone comes from the Greek words for “wood” and “sound” and refers to an instrument made with wooden bars that are struck to produce sound. Glockenspiels have metal bars and are typically a little smaller. Glockenspiel comes from the German words for “bell” and “play.”

Question: Which of these can describe an outsider moving into an area to meddle in local politics?

Answer: After the American Civil War, Northerners who moved to the South to take advantage of Reconstruction politics were labeled “carpetbaggers,” implying all their possessions were kept in large sacks for easy travel. Today the term is often used to describe outsiders stirring up trouble.

Question: Which of these words comes from the German words for “goblin” and “to break wind”?

Answer: The dark, dense bread pumpernickel has a reputation for being difficult to digest and causing flatulence.

Question: Which of the following might be considered hagiographic?

Answer: Hagiographies can refer to biographies of saints, but today the term is more frequently applied to works that are especially flattering, treating the subjects as if they were saints.

Question: Which of the following might be described as a katzenjammer?

Answer: Echoing the moans of those feeling the aftereffects of too much alcohol, katzenjammer comes from the German words for “cat” and “distress” or “misery.”

Question: A wizard with the ability to transmogrify might do which of the following?

Answer: Transmogrify means “to change or alter greatly and often with grotesque or humorous effect.” The Latin trans- means “beyond” or “across,” while the origin of the mogrify portion of the word is a mystery.

Question: Mithridatism involves which of these risky activities?

Answer: Mithridatism refers to a tolerance built up to a poison by ingesting small amounts at first and increasing the dosage. The word comes from Mithridates the Great, an ancient ruler who reputedly used the technique on himself as a youth. Ironically, later in life he tried to commit suicide by poisoning during an insurrection but found that the poison was ineffective.