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A Quiz on Latin and its Daughter Languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, etc.)

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The Romans spread their language, Latin, with their empire, over much of Europe, some 2000 years ago. Latin put down such robust roots that it survives to this day, in evolved forms, as the national language of five major European countries, and has spread to every inhabited continent. Today, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian are spoken by millions of people all over the world. What do you know about this amazing family of languages? Take this short quiz to gauge your knowledge, and as always, feel free to share your experience below 🙂

If you like this quiz, be sure to check out my 99 Amazing Quizzes on a Wide Variety of Topics! – “Guaranteed to make you smarter!” 

  • Question of

    What is the French for ‘water’? (Below you see the words for water in Spanish, Romanian and Latin, as well as French)

    • Aqua
    • Agua
    • Eau
    • Apă
  • Question of

    ‘Latte’ is the Italian word for…

    • Coffee
    • Froth
    • Milk
  • Question of

    The French, Spanish and Italian words for ‘friend’ all come from the same Latin word. The word is listed below in all four languages, but which one is the Latin original?

    • Amico
    • Amicus
    • Amigo
    • Ami
  • Question of

    In all of the major daughter languages of Latin, the word for Italy remains unchanged from the original Italia… except which one?

    • Italian
    • French
    • Portuguese
  • Question of

    Romansh is a minor daughter-language of Latin, yet is a national language of a country where it is spoken by less than 1% of the population. Which country?

    • Switzerland
    • Italy
    • Liechtenstein
  • Question of

    The Latin word ‘cor’ gave rise to Spanish ‘corazón’, Italian ‘cuore’, Romanian ‘cord’. What do all these words mean?

    • Choir
    • Cordial
    • Heart
  • Question of

    The English word ‘cathedral’ derives from Latin ‘cathedra’, seen in Catalan ‘cadira’, Romanian ‘catedră’, and even Irish ‘cathaoir.’ What does Latin ‘cathedra’ mean?

    • Catheter
    • Priest
    • Chair
  • Question of

    Which of these languages is NOT a daughter language of Latin?

    • Sardinian
    • Galician
    • Breton
    • Walloon
  • Question of

    The area where Latin originated is now in which modern state?

    • Belgium
    • Turkey
    • Italy
  • Question of

    Which daughter of Latin is NOT a national language outside of Europe?

    • Portuguese
    • French
    • Romanian

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CatalandarloFrenchitalianlanguagelatinPortuguesequizRomanianSpanish

Written by Norman Darlo

39 Comments

    • Ah yes, good old Latin. While it can be challenging to make a substantial case for teaching it today, I value it as an important ‘intangible’ asset. Not that I remember that much of its complex grammar, as I only took it for four years, but its vocabulary is enormously helpful both in understanding Latin-derived words in English, and in learning, or even passively understanding, its daughter languages.