Word Backstories Part 1 Quiz

John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, was an English nobleman who reportedly ordered meat between slices of bread so he could eat while gambling. The convenient meal became associated with his title and eventually gave rise to the word “sandwich.”

In American Civil War prison camps, a “deadline” was a physical boundary prisoners were forbidden to cross. Anyone who crossed it was shot, giving the term its original, literal sense before it evolved into a time limit.

The term “robot” comes from the Czech word robota, meaning forced labor or drudgery. It was popularized by playwright Karel Čapek in his 1920 play R.U.R., where artificial workers were called robots.

“Escalator” was once a trademark owned by the Otis Elevator Company. Due to widespread usage, it lost its trademark protection and became a generic word for moving staircases.

The word “panic” comes from the Greek god Pan, whose sudden shouts were believed to cause irrational fear in travelers and armies. This association led to the term describing sudden, overwhelming fear.

“Assassin” is linked to the medieval Hashshashin sect, known for targeted killings. European travelers misunderstood their name, and it entered Western languages as a term for a hired killer.

“Quarantine” comes from the Italian quaranta, meaning forty. Ships suspected of carrying disease were isolated for forty days before passengers could disembark.

“Barbarian” comes from a Greek term mocking foreigners whose language sounded like “bar-bar.” Romans adopted it to describe people outside their civilization.

Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt or given a salt allowance called salarium. This practice gave rise to the modern word “salary.”

“Villain” comes from the Latin villanus, meaning a worker on a villa or farm. Over time, it gained a negative moral meaning.