OXON HILL, Md. — Soft-spoken but brimming with confidence, Dev Shah asked precise questions about obscure Greek roots, rushed through his second-to-last word and rolled to the Scripps National Spelling Bee title Thursday night.
Dev Shah, 14, from Largo, Fla., lifts the trophy next to Scripps CEO Adam Symson after he won the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals Thursday in Oxon Hill, Md.
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Charlotte Walsh, 14, from Arlington, Va., competes during the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday in Oxon Hill, Md.
Nathan Howard, Associated Press
Intro
- Alex Brandon
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — The Scripps National Spelling Bee proves every year that word knowledge is personal and idiosyncratic. Words that baffle most of the audience are considered easy by elite spellers. And spellers get tripped up by words that many older people come across frequently. Here are some memorable words from Thursday's final rounds of the bee.
Above: Erin Howard, 12, from Huntsville, Ala., reacts after spelling her word correctly during the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, June 1, 2017, in Oxon Hill, Md.
STRULDBRUG
Coined by Jonathan Swift in his novel "Gulliver's Travels," it means one of a class of imaginary persons who can never die but are declared dead in law at the age of 80 and live on wretchedly at state expense. Shourav Dasari spelled it wrong and was eliminated in fourth place.
WHIRLICOTE
A heavy and luxurious carriage or coach. Maggie Sheridan struggled just to pronounce the word correctly and then gave her best guess, getting it right just before her 2-minute allotted time expired. "One second to spare," pronouncer Jacques Bailly said. "Don't do that again."
APPARENTEMENT
An alliance of French political parties formed during an election. "You really have to give me a word I know," Erin Howard said to pronouncer Jacques Bailly. Upon hearing the word, she asked, "Did you misunderstand my request?" She spelled it right anyway.
How many would you get right? 11 memorable words from the National Spelling Bee
Here are some memorable words from the final rounds of the 2017 National Spelling Bee.
Intro
- Alex Brandon
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — The Scripps National Spelling Bee proves every year that word knowledge is personal and idiosyncratic. Words that baffle most of the audience are considered easy by elite spellers. And spellers get tripped up by words that many older people come across frequently. Here are some memorable words from Thursday's final rounds of the bee.
Above: Erin Howard, 12, from Huntsville, Ala., reacts after spelling her word correctly during the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, June 1, 2017, in Oxon Hill, Md.
MARRAM
A Scandinavian-derived word for a beach grass. Rohan Rajeev misspelled it as "marem," opening the door for Ananya Vinay's victory.
WAYZGOOSE
A word of unknown origin, meaning a printer's annual outing or entertainment. Ananya Vinay spelled it correctly during her duel for the title with Rohan Rajeev.
STRULDBRUG
Coined by Jonathan Swift in his novel "Gulliver's Travels," it means one of a class of imaginary persons who can never die but are declared dead in law at the age of 80 and live on wretchedly at state expense. Shourav Dasari spelled it wrong and was eliminated in fourth place.
BUMICKY
A mixture of cement and powdered stone used for filling crevices. Tejas Muthusamy spelled this word, which has an unknown origin, correctly.
CORRIEDALE
A large, hornless sheep from New Zealand. This word led to the surprising elimination of Siyona Mishra, the reigning South Asian Spelling Bee champion. She went with "coreydale."
AUTEUR
Rutvik Gandharsi knew how to spell this word, but he didn't know what it meant — a film director who believes he or she is the sole author of a movie — and that was his downfall. He went with the similar-sounding "hauteur."
CHRYSELEPHANTINE
Composed of or adorned with gold or ivory. Tejas Muthusamy impressed the audience with his knowledge of roots by asking if it contained the Greek root "chrys," meaning gold.
WHIRLICOTE
A heavy and luxurious carriage or coach. Maggie Sheridan struggled just to pronounce the word correctly and then gave her best guess, getting it right just before her 2-minute allotted time expired. "One second to spare," pronouncer Jacques Bailly said. "Don't do that again."
SBRINZ
A hard cheese suitable for grating. Erin Howard spelled it correctly.
APPARENTEMENT
An alliance of French political parties formed during an election. "You really have to give me a word I know," Erin Howard said to pronouncer Jacques Bailly. Upon hearing the word, she asked, "Did you misunderstand my request?" She spelled it right anyway.
SKEUOMORPH
An ornament or design representing a utensil or implement. Shourav Dasari spelled it correctly.
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