Sometimes, it's the words we take for granted, the so-called "normal" words of everyday life, that have the most interesting etymologies of all. In fact, some words have a downright quizzical origin, like, well, quiz. Many thanks belong to junior Donald Meldrum for suggesting it.

Quiz (pronounced "kwiz") has a particularly mysterious background. Nowadays, it refers to a short test, but, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, as a noun, its older meaning was in reference to a strange-looking or acting person or thing, a practical joke, a hoax or a witty remark. As a verb, it refers to the act of making fun of or ridiculing someone or something, or, more seriously, questioning or examining someone. More unusually, quiz (also spelled quis in its early days) can refer to the act of making a whizzing sound.

All these meanings sprung up, seemingly spontaneously, in the early to mid-18th century. However, its first recorded appearance was in Frances Burney's Early Diary, June 24, 1782, when Burney writes, "He's a droll quiz, and I rather like him."

The English Burney, or rather Mme (Madame) Frances D'Arblay, who lived from 1752 to 1840, was a novelist, diarist and playwright whose clever narratives and satire inspired the likes of Jane Austen and William Makepeace Thackeray. Speaking of Austen, she's the next person to use quiz to refer to something unusual. Written in 1798 but not published until late 1817 (shortly after her death), Austen's novel Northanger Abbey contains the line, "Where did you get that quiz of a hat?"

For the more modern meaning of quiz, we have the prominent American psychologist and philosopher Dr. William James (1842-1910) to thank. An intellectual giant in his own right, James spent his entire academic career at Harvard and corresponded with such notables as Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, W.E.B. Du Bois and Sigmund Freud.

In a letter to a friend Dec. 26, 1867, he writes that, "...occasional review articles, etc., perhaps giving 'quizzes' in anatomy and physiology ... may help along ..." students in their coursework. This is first instance where quiz is noted as referring to those short exams we face every week. Now you know whom to thank the next time you have to take one.

On a final note, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language suggests that quiz came about by its association with the related words question or inquisitive, or the related English dialect verb quiset, which means to question — probably a shorter version of the obsolete word inquisite, meaning "to investigate," which comes from inquire, from the Latin quaerere, meaning "to seek."

But that's just a theory. With words like quiz, almost anything's possible. Please continue to send your word ideas in, as I truly appreciate any and all submissions. Until next time, cheers!

Reach columnist Will Mari at wtm2@u.washington.edu.