I'm interested in how far up the scale goes.

The best I could manage at this level where semi-educated guesses. It really helps to have an interest in etymology, as I do, to help you choose the right word. Words as they are meant today often have unexpected origins. The best example I can think of off hand is the word 'sincere.' It comes from Latin and means 'without wax.' As the story goes, marble sellers would often hide blemishes or cutting mistakes in marble by filling them with wax. If a piece of marble was without wax, it was sincere, and this label probably made it's way to the seller from there, and then to people in general afterwards.

And oh yeah, dig it: