It’s the Super Bowl week for spellers – the Scripps National Bee, which is going on now in Maryland. A new champion will be declared live on the ION channel starting tomorrow at 7 p.m. (CST).
Actor and literacy activist, LeVar Burton, will be the host as 234 spellers from across the United States and around the globe will spell their hearts out to try to win $50,000!
For today’s Weird Word Wednesday, let’s look at three words that have been the winning words for spellers at past Scripps National Bees: Koinonia, appoggiatura, and guetapens.
Here’s what www.merriam-webster (unabridged edition) says about these weird words:
Pronunciation: [ ˌkȯinəˈnēə, ˌkēnə- ]
Part of speech: Noun
Definition: The Christian fellowship or body of believers or an intimate, spiritual communion and participative sharing in a common religious commitment and spiritual community.
Language origin: Greek
“Koinonia.” Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/koinonia. Accessed 30 May. 2022.
appoggiatura
Pronunciation: [ ə-ˌpä-jə-ˈtu̇r-ə ]
Part of speech: Noun
Definition: An accessory embellishing note or tone preceding an essential melodic note or tone and usually written as a note of smaller size. Language origin: Italian
“Appoggiatura.” Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/appoggiatura. Accessed 30 May. 2022.
guetapens
Pronunciation: [ ¦getə¦päⁿ ]
Part of speech: Noun
Definition: An ambush, snare or trap. Language origin: French
“Guetapens.” Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/guetapens. Accessed 30 May. 2022.