30 terms from Scripps Spelling Bee victors
Logophiles, do you know how to spell (or use) terms such as “pococurante,” “antipyretic” and “vivisepulture?” They’re a few of the winners from the past several decades of the famous spelling competition.
It’s not the point of the spelling bee. Instead, the event showcases exactly what can happen when kids spend thousands of hours pouring over how to spell terms such as “sprachgefühl,” “hippocrepiform” and “scherenschnitte.”
It’s an annual tradition whereupon we celebrate not only the competitors, but the English language itself—and the approximate 170,000 words that comprise it.
A few words are of particular note—not just because they’re difficult to spell, but rather because they became the event’s winning words.
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