11yo english test paper - derivation

[lilypig]

Please help I'm stumped on the English homework, as is my DH. My daughter has been asked to explain the derivation of several words sumo, spotlight and motel. Having googled it we are totally baffled

Sumo has a foreign derivation, spotlight is a compound noun and motel is an ellision of motor + hotel. Three different derivations.

Don't know if that is what the teacher is after mind you!

Thanks for your help, my daughter seems a little confused still. She is going to speak to her teacher, hopefully she'll be able to explain it better than me.

This site is pretty good for this sort of thing: www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=sumo