Words English took from Spanish and French
Grade 11 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Entry
Cinch (noun) 1. a strap that holds a saddle on a horse. 2. informal: a task that is easy or certain. Origin: Spanish cincha “belt, saddle strap,” from Latin cingula “belt.” The informal sense is recorded later in English than the strap sense.
Noah quotes this entry in a report. Which sentence goes no further than the entry does?
- Cinch came to English from Spanish, and the “easy task” sense is recorded after the strap sense.
- English took cinch straight from Latin cingula “belt,” and Spanish merely changed its spelling along the way.
- The “easy task” sense came first, and the saddle strap sense grew out of it in later English use.
- Spanish speakers already used cincha for easy tasks long before English borrowed the word and its saddle sense.
Entry
Vanilla (noun) a flavoring made from the seed pods of a tropical orchid. Origin: Spanish vainilla “little pod,” from vaina “pod, sheath” + -illa, “little.” English first recorded the word in the 1600s.
Bo quotes this entry in a report. Which sentence goes no further than the entry does?
- Since -illa means “little,” the entry shows that Spanish words ending in -illa name small things.
- English made vanilla by adding -illa to the Spanish word vaina “pod,” rather than borrowing a finished word.
- Vanilla is a Spanish word built from vaina “pod” and -illa “little,” and English recorded it in the 1600s.
- Spanish explorers named vanilla “little pod” because its smell is so mild compared with the pod’s size.
Entry
Armadillo (noun) a burrowing mammal covered in bony plates. Origin: Spanish armadillo “little armored one,” from armado “armored” + -illo, “little.” First recorded in English in the 1500s.
Luz quotes this entry in a report. Which sentence goes no further than the entry does?
- The name is Spanish for “little armored one,” and English first recorded it in the 1500s.
- Spanish armado was cut down from armadillo after English adopted the longer word.
- English took the word from Latin, and Spanish merely supplied the -illo ending.
- Spanish settlers chose the name because the animal is smaller than other armored animals.
Entry
Sombrero (noun) a hat with a wide brim. Origin: Spanish sombrero, from sombra “shade” + -ero, an ending for a thing or person connected with the base word.
Kira quotes this entry in a report. Which sentence goes no further than the entry does?
- English built sombrero by adding -ero to the Spanish word sombra.
- Sombra “shade” was shortened from sombrero after the hat became popular.
- The entry shows -ero names hats, so Spanish words ending in -ero mean headwear.
- Sombrero is a Spanish word formed from sombra “shade” and the ending -ero.
Entry
Cache (noun) a hidden store of supplies. Origin: French cache “hiding place,” from cacher “to hide.” Sentence: The map app loaded slowly until it had built a cache of the routes the hikers used most.
Jun reads the sentence in the entry. Which meaning of “cache” fits it?
- a store of recently used data, kept close at hand for fast reuse
- a small supply of money that is set aside for emergencies and trips
- a hand-drawn map showing which routes the hikers use the most
- a hidden store of data that the app keeps secret from its users
Entry
Rapport (noun) a relationship of mutual understanding and trust. Origin: French rapport “a bringing back, a report,” from rapporter “to bring back.” Sentence: Within a month the new coach had built a rapport with a team that had distrusted every adult.
Esme reads the sentence in the entry. Which meaning of “rapport” fits it?
- a written report on how well the team was playing
- a bringing back of the team’s old equipment and records
- a warning that the team has long distrusted adults
- a relationship of trust and easy understanding
Entry
Alcove (noun) a small recess in a wall, or a nook off a larger room. Origin: French alcôve, from Spanish alcoba, from Arabic al-qubba “the vault.”
Zee traces alcove. Which account of its path matches the entry?
- Latin alcova → Spanish alcoba → French alcôve → English alcove
- Arabic al-qubba → French alcôve → English alcove
- Arabic al-qubba → Spanish alcoba → French alcôve → English alcove
- English alcove → French alcôve → Spanish alcoba → Arabic al-qubba
Entry
Magazine (noun) 1. a storehouse. 2. a periodical of articles and pictures, so called as a storehouse of information. Origin: French magasin “storehouse,” from Italian magazzino, from Arabic makhāzin “storehouses.”
Ari traces magazine. Which account of its path matches the entry?
- Arabic makhāzin → French magasin → English magazine
- Arabic makhāzin → Italian magazzino → French magasin → English magazine
- Greek magazin → Italian magazzino → French magasin → English magazine
- French magasin → Italian magazzino → Arabic makhāzin → English magazine
Entry
Canoe (noun) a light, narrow boat moved by paddles. Origin: Spanish canoa, from a language of the Caribbean. English first recorded the word in the 1500s.
Tala asks what the entry names as the first source of canoe. Which answer is right?
- Spanish, the language English borrowed it from
- a language of the Caribbean, named in the entry
- English, since the entry gives the 1500s date for it
- Latin, as with many Spanish words
Entry
Potato (noun) a starchy underground stem eaten cooked. Origin: Spanish patata, a changed form of batata, a word from Taino, a language of the Caribbean, for the sweet potato. English first recorded the word in the 1500s.
Ren asks which language English borrowed potato from directly. Which answer matches the entry?
- Portuguese, since many early plant names reached English that way
- Taino, the language of the original word batata
- Spanish, which had changed the Taino word batata
- Quechua, the language of the Andes, where potatoes were grown