Question

Many foreign language words and phrases are used in the English language. What does the phrase ‘bona fide’ derived from Latin, mean ?
A) Good Luck
B) Genuine
C) Every year
D) Against

Answer 1

Hint: The above question is from the concept ‘origin’ of words in the English language. The English language is a relatively new language as compared to several ancient languages in the world, such as Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, etc. Therefore, it has developed by gathering words from different ancient languages and has formed its own vocabulary.

Complete answer:
In order to determine the answer, it is necessary to find where and how the words mentioned in the option were originally used before they were included in English.

Option A) Good Luck. It is an incorrect option. The word Good Luck is estimated to originate from the Early Medieval Dutch word “gheluc” which meant good fortune or happiness. Even at present, there can be similar words found in Modern Dutch (geluk) and German (gluck). Therefore, it has no relation to ‘bona fide’.

Option B) Genuine. It is the correct option. The word ‘bona fide’ has been derived from genuine, which literally translates to ‘in good faith’. The word has Latin origins.

Option C) Every year. It is an incorrect option. The word ‘every’ has originated from the Old English word ‘everich’ and the word ‘year’ has its origins in the Old English word ‘gear’, probably to denote one complete cycle.

Option D) Against. It is an incorrect option. The word ‘against’ has its origin in the Middle English word ‘ayenes’ or ‘ayenst’.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘B’.

Note: The origin of any word can often be traced from the bottom of any dictionary’s entry of the word. The study of origins of the word of any language and the manner in which they have transformed throughout the usage of the language is known as ‘etymology’.