The Scripps National Spelling Bee, America’s foremost authority on children’s spelling abilities, wrapped up tonight, crowning Ananya Vinay for spelling the winning word “marocain.”
While some competition words may stretch the limits of syllables most adults are comfortable memorizing, sometimes a silent letter, surprising vowel digraph or even its general obscurity are enough to make a simple sounding word challenging. Take for example like 2013’s deceptively difficult winning word: “knaidel,” the Yiddish word for matzo ball.
You can read through the bee’s winning words dating back to 1925 at their website. Here are all the winners of the past two decades, and the word they had to spell to take home the championship trophy.
2016: Co-champions Jairam Hathwar and Nihar Janga – Feldenkrais, gesellschaft
Nihar Janga, 11, of Austin, Texas, right and Jairam Hathwar, 13, of Painted Post, New York
2015: Co-champions Gokul Venkatachalam and Vanya Shivashankar – nunatak, scherenschnitte
Vanya Shivashankar, left, of Olathe, Kansas., and Gokul Venkatachalam, of St. Louis, Missouri
2014: Co-champions Ansun Sujoe and Sriram Hathwar – feuilleton, stichomythia
Ansun Sujoe, 13, of Fort Worth, Texas, left, and Sriram Hathwar, 14, of Painted Post, New York
2013: Arvind Mahankali – knaidel
Arvind Mahankali, 13, of Bayside Hills, New York
2012: Snigdha Nandipati – guetapens
Snigdha Nandipati, 14, of San Diego, California
2011: Sukanya Roy – cymotrichous
Sukanya Roy, 14, of South Abington Township, Pennsylvania
2010: Anamika Veeramani – stromuhr
Anamika Veeramani, 14, of North Royalton, Ohio
2009: Kavya Shivashankar – Laodicean
Kavya Shivashankar, 13, of Olathe, Kansas
2008: Sameer Mishra – guerdon
Sameer Mishra, from West Lafayette, Indiana
2007: Evan M. O’Dorney – serrefine
Evan M. O’Dorney, 13, of San Ramon, California
2006: Kerry Close – Ursprache
Kerry Close of Spring Lake, New Jersey.
2005: Anurag Kashyap – appoggiatura
Anurag Kashyap, 13, of Poway, California
2004: David Tidmarsh – autochthonous
David Tidmarsh, 14, of South Bend, Indiana
2003: Sai R. Gunturi – pococurante
Sai R.. Gunturi, 13, of Dallas, Texas
2002: Pratyush Buddiga – prospicience
Pratyush Buddiga of Denver, Colorado
2001: Sean Conley – succedaneum
Sean Conley, 13, of Anoka, Minnesota
2000: George Abraham Thampy – demarche
George Abraham Thampy, 12 of Maryland Heights, Missouri
1999: Nupur Lala – logorrhea
Nupur Lala, 14, from Tampa, Florida
1998: Jody-Anne Maxwell – chiaroscurist
Jody-Anne Maxwell, 12, of Ardenne High School in Kingston, Jamaica.
1997: Rebecca Sealfon – euonym
Rebecca Sealfon, 13, of Brooklyn, New York
