quiz

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A short test or competition in which you answer questions.

   We came second in the pub quiz.

2. 2
   verb

   To ask someone a lot of questions.

   The reporters quizzed the minister about the new policy.

Attested since the 1780s, of unknown origin. * The Century Dictionary suggests it was originally applied to a popular toy, from a dialectal variant of whiz. * The Random House Dictionary suggests the original sense was "odd person" (circa 1780). * Others suggest the meaning "hoax" was original (1796), shifting to the meaning "interrogate" (1847) under the influence of question and inquisitive. * Some say without evidence it was invented by a late-18th-century Dublin theatre proprietor who bet he could add a new nonsense word to the English language; he had the word painted on walls all over th…

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