Loanwords
Composer
Microscopic
100
This North American animal gets its English name from Algonquian/Powhatan: "he scratches with his hands"
What is raccoon?
100
This American composer wrote the film scores for Star Wars, Jaws, and Harry Potter.
Who is John Williams?
100
This laboratory technique amplifies a specific DNA sequence by making millions of copies, allowing scientists to detect tiny amounts of genetic material - useful in diagnosing viruses like COVID-19.
What is PCR?
200
Meaning mountain in Tagalog, this word has come to mean a remote or rural place in English. It’s also the name of an animated comedy about two brothers who move from Chicago’s South Side to the suburbs.
What is the boondocks?
200
This German Baroque composer is credited with the early-1700s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, an ominous organ work that feels seasonally appropriate in October.
Who is Johann Sebastian Bach?
200
Also known as "water bears", these eight-legged animals can survive in extreme conditions - including exposure to the vacuum of space.
What is a tardigrade?
300
This language has given English such iconic words as spiel, klutz, schlep, tchotchke, and glitch.
What is Yiddish?
300
This German composer created the scores for The Lion King, The Dark Knight, Inception, and Interstellar, among several other blockbuster films.
Who is Hans Zimmer?
300
This potentially deadly form of food poisoning caused by a bacteria-produced toxin is one reason you should avoid bulging or damaged canned foods.
What is botulism?
400
Meaning “reunion of broken parts,” this Arabic-derived word is the branch of mathematics dealing with the manipulation of expressions within abstract systems.
What is algebra?
400
This Russian composer is known for his ballets The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, as well as the 1812 Overture, which famously calls for actual cannon fire in its climactic finale.
Who is Tchaikovsky?
400
This gene-editing tool was inspired by a microscopic organism's defense system against viruses - and now allows scientists to make targeted changes to DNA.
What is CRISPR?
500
Through the power of linguistic evolution, the Spanish vaquero became this English word for a cowboy.
What is buckaroo?
500
This error message is often encountered when a field containing double quotes is merged into a Microsoft Word IF statement.
What is the operation was cancelled?
500
These organelles are responsible for much of a cell’s energy production and are thought to have originated as free-living bacteria that formed a symbiotic relationship with ancient cells.
What are mitochondria?