Memorable words from the National Spelling Bee
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) - Here are some memorable words and definitions from the final rounds of the 89th Scripps National Spelling Bee. Biological terms were particularly challenging, and shorter words often present a greater challenge than longer ones, which are made up of roots that spellers can piece together.
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CACOMIXL: A carnivorous mammal related to the raccoon. Cooper Komatsu of Culver City, California, got this right. He also could have gotten it right with two alternate spellings: "cacomistle" or "cacomixle."
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SYLVILAGUS: A cottontail rabbit. Sylvie Lamontagne of Lakewood, Colorado, got this right, but she didn't know it right away. Fidgeting nervously, she managed to piece it together by the roots.
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DIPNOOUS: Having both lungs and gills. Afua Ansah of Ghana spelled this correctly.
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TALAJE: A tick of the American tropics. Shashwat Patel of Harriman, New York, got this wrong.
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TIBOURBOU: A tropical evergreen tree. Nihar Janga of Austin, Texas, who at 11 could become the youngest champion on record and is the only speller who hasn't missed a word either on the written test or onstage, got this right.
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SALELE: A Samoan-derived word for a small, dusky silver fish. Tejas Muthusamy of Glen Allen, Virginia, who made the top 10 the past two years, spelled this wrong and was eliminated.
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TYEE: A Chinook-derived word for a salmon. Shruthika Padhy of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, got this wrong.
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DULIA: Veneration paid to saints and angels in Roman Catholicism. Max Meyer of Shorewood, Minnesota, got this wrong.
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SOMMA: The rim of a volcanic crater. Shiv Dewan of North Canton, Ohio, got this wrong.
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