View source for Quiz

{{Short description|Game of answering questions}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2008}}
[[File:Health Quiz, RAMC; 651-3 Wellcome L0024826 (cropped).jpg|thumb|A printed quiz on health issues]]
A '''quiz''' is a form of [[mind sport]] in which people attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief [[Educational assessment|assessment in education]] and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities, and skills, or simply as a [[hobby]]. They can also be televised for entertainment purposes, often in a [[game show]] format.

==Etymology==
The earliest known examples of the word date back to 1780; its etymology is unknown, but it may have originated in student slang. It initially meant an "odd, eccentric person"{{efn|The now-disused word "quiz", which also referred to an "odd person" and has a likewise obscure origin, dates back from about the same time.<ref>{{Cite OED|quoz, n. (and int.)|156931}}</ref>}} or a "joke, hoax". Later (perhaps by association with words such as "inquisitive"), it came to mean "to observe, study intently", and thence (from about the mid-19th century) "test, exam."<ref>{{Cite OED|quiz, n.|156832}}</ref><ref>{{Cite OED|quiz, v.1|156834}}</ref>

There is a [[Folk Etymology|well-known myth]] about the word ''quiz'' that says that in 1791, a Dublin theatre owner named [[Richard Daly]] made a bet that he could introduce a word into the language within 24 hours. He then went out and hired a group of [[street children]] to write the word "quiz", which was a [[nonsense word]], on walls around the city of [[Dublin]]. Within a day, the word was common currency and had acquired a meaning (since no one knew what it meant, everyone thought it was some sort of test), and Daly had some extra cash in his pocket.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-qui1.htm|title=World Wide Words: Quiz|work=World Wide Words|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010406074752/http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-qui1.htm|archive-date=6 April 2001|url-status=live}}</ref> However, there is no evidence to support the story, and the term was already in use before the alleged bet in 1791.

==As competitions==<!-- please respect alphabetical order--> 
[[File: Norwegian quiz championship final 2009.jpg|thumb|Final from Norwegian Quiz Championship, 2009]]
[[File: Keiichi Takazawa 540216 Scan10004.JPG|thumb|A quiz show in Japan, 1954]]
[[File:Ki nyer ma- – játék és muzsika tíz percben, a Magyar Rádió déli zenei vetélkedője. Jobbra Boros Anikó műsorvezető. Fortepan 56435.jpg|thumb|People listening to a Hungarian radio quiz, 1962]]
Quizzes may be held on a variety of subjects ([[general knowledge]] or 'pot luck' (which could be anything)) or subject-specific. The format of the quiz can also vary.  Popularly known competition quizzes include
*[[Pub quiz]]zes
*[[Quiz bowl]]
*in Canada:
**[[Reach for the Top]]
*in [[Lithuania]]:
**[[Protmušis]]
*in the United Kingdom:
**[[British Quizzing Championships]], annual national tournament in Great Britain
**[[Schools' Challenge]]
**''[[University Challenge]]'' (televised)
*in the United States:
**[[Academic Competition Federation]]
**[[College Bowl]]
**[[National Academic Quiz Tournaments]]
**[[Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence]]
*Individual quiz tournaments
**in multiple countries:
***[[International Quizzing Championships]]
***[[World Quizzing Championships]]
**in the United Kingdom:
***''[[Mastermind (TV series)|Mastermind]]'' (televised)
**[[Bait Bazi]] poetic quiz in [[Pakistan]]
*Board games:
**[[Bezzerwizzer]]
**[[Trivial Pursuit]]
*TV quizzes, also called ''quiz shows'' ([[game show]]s TV/radio)
** [[Bait Bazi]] poetic quiz
**''[[Bamboozle (quiz)|Bamboozle!]]'', a [[teletext]] quiz on UK TV
** [[BBC]]'s ''[[Mastermind (television)|MasterMind]]''
**''[[Jeopardy!]]''
**''[[Quiz Call]]'' phone-in television show
**''[[The Weakest Link]]''
**''[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?]]''

See also:
*[[Quiz league]]
*[[Quiz machine]]

==World record==
The largest quiz, according to Guinness, was the "Quiz for Life", held at the Flanders Expo Halls in Ghent, Belgium, on 11 December 2010 with 2,280 participants. The winning team ''Café De Kastaar'' from Leuven consisted of Marnix Baes, [[Erik Derycke (quiz player)|Erik Derycke]], Eric Hemelaers, Bart Permentier and [[Tom Trogh]].

==In education==
In an educational context, a quiz is usually a form of a student assessment, but often has fewer questions of less difficulty and requires less time for completion than a [[Test (student assessment)|test]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/01/global.connections.quiz/index.html|title=Quiz: How much do you know about China and Turkey?|work=cnn.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101004190025/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/01/global.connections.quiz/index.html|archive-date=4 October 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> This use is typically found in the United States, Canada, the [[Philippines]], [[Dominican Republic]] and some colleges in India.
For instance, in a mathematics classroom, a quiz may check comprehension of a type of [[mathematical exercise]].  Some instructors schedule a daily or weekly quiz ranging from five to thirty relatively easy questions for the purpose of having the students review their previous lessons before attending the next class. A "pop quiz" is a quiz that students are given no time to prepare for; they are simply surprised with it in class.{{cn|date=September 2020}}

==Other quizzes==
Additionally, a [[personality quiz]] may be a series of multiple-choice questions about the respondent without right or wrong answers. The responses to these questions are tallied according to a key, and the result purports to reveal some quality of the respondent. This kind of "quiz" was originally popularized by women's magazines such as ''[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]''. They have since become common on the [[Internet]], where the result page typically includes code which can be added to a [[blog]] entry to publicize the result. These postings are common on many sites like [[LiveJournal]].

The results of online quizzes are generally to be taken lightly, as they do not often reflect the true personality or relationship. They are also rarely [[psychometrics|psychometric]]ally [[validity (statistics)|valid]]. However, they may occasion reflection on the subject of the quiz and provide a springboard for a person to explore his or her emotions, beliefs, actions or to put some already acquired knowledge to the test.

==See also==
* [[Test (assessment)]]
* [[List of quiz arcade games]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiversity|Test and Quiz}}
{{wiktionary}}
{{commons}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Quiz games|*]]
[[Category:School examinations]]