Q 01/05

In which language does the single word "morgen" mean both "morning" and "tomorrow"?

A) French

B) German

C) Spanish

D) Italian

Answer · why

B) German

English once worked the same way: "morning" and "tomorrow" both grew out of the Middle English morwen.

Q 02/05

The word "dawn" comes from the Old English verb dagian, meaning what?

A) To wake up

B) To shine

C) To rise

D) To become day

Answer · why

D) To become day

Morning twilight is split into astronomical, nautical and civil phases before the Sun actually clears the horizon.

Q 03/05

The "a.m." on a clock stands for the Latin ante meridiem, which translates as what?

A) After midnight

B) Before midday

C) At morning

D) Around sunrise

Answer · why

B) Before midday

Its partner p.m., post meridiem, simply means "after midday".

Q 04/05

'Breakfast' entered written English as a word for a morning meal in roughly which century?

A) 11th

B) 13th

C) 15th

D) 17th

Answer · why

C) 15th

Before that the Old English word for the regular morning meal was morgenmete.

Q 05/05

In poetry, what is an aubade?

A) A serenade sung beneath a balcony at night

B) A lament sung at a funeral procession

C) A hymn sung at the autumn harvest

D) A song about lovers parting at dawn

Answer · why

D) A song about lovers parting at dawn

John Donne's "The Sunne Rising" is a famous English example of the form.