I have included the Flyte Word List for download as a PDF.

You can also download this list as a PDF file.

The second half of the book profiles several top spellers (Samir Patel, Jamie Ding, Kerry Close, Marshall Winchester and Aliya Deri) in the run up to the 2005 NSB. Consequently, most of the words in part II of the list were asked at 2005 regional bees and the ensuing 2005 NSB. I checked all words against W3.

abeyance
acarophobia
acetarious
adjuvant
aition
Alembert
alstroemeria
anarchy
anemology
anorak
antemortem
aphasia
apoplexy
appoggiatura
arbutus
arcology
augean
autochthonous
ayuntamiento
badigeon
baignoire
banausic
banderillero
belonoid
betony
blepharal
boeotian
boiserie
borborygmus
boudin
bourgeoisie
brigantine
brocade
brochette
brummagem
caldera
cancellous
cancrizans
canitist
canzonettas
capitulation
capuan
carbohydrate
carcinogenic
casserole
cationic
Catullian
censor
ceraunograph
chaetophorous
charcuterie
chatelaine
chayote
chenet
chevesaile
Chinook
chiral
cholecyst
chresard
chromometer
cloture
coelostat
coercion
cognate
congelifract
conscientious
corposant
cortege
corticoline
crouton
crucible
cubitiere
cyclolysis
daguerreotypes
decile
defer
deleteriously
devastavit
dioscuric
diphthongize
dissilient
dissymmetry
diverticulum
doily
domiciliated
domra
doughty
drepaniform
dysrhythmia
eatage
ecru
emetic
eminentissimo
ensemble
entrecote
epicalyx
epideictic
erudite
erythrophobia
espionage
esurient
etouffee
etymology
eudaemonic
excelsior
excruciating
exsiccosis
feuilleton
flamborough
flammulated
fretum
fritillary
fulgurant
fustian
futurity
gallipot
garderobe
genuflect
gibbet
gigot
giusto
glacis
glycerol
graveolent
gusset
Hellenic
hermetically
hibernal
hodiernal
hooroosh
hypochondria
ikat
immalleable
incunabula
infancy
infidel
inion
initials
internecine
interstice
irrefragable
irreverent
jabot
jamrosade
janiform
jaundice
jerkin
jicama
jiggety
julep
kenning
keratinophilic
Kneippism
kraken
labyrinth
Laetrile
laity
lathe
leprosy
levirate
lignite
Lilliputian
lochetic
luge
Lysenkoism
Machiavellian
mahogany
mandir
maquiladora
Meissen
metalloid
millennium
misinterpret
mobilize
moire
momentary
monomeniscous
mucedinaceous
myotonia
myriads
myxomatosis
naumachia
necromancy
nephrolithiasis
netiquette
nuchal
objicient
odylic
oligopsony
onomasiologic
onychophagy
opprobrium
orfevrerie
ormolu
ornithorhynchous
otiosity
outfield
palooka
paraselene
parquetry
pasqueflower
peccavi
pedant
pentateuchal
Pepysian
perimysium
peritonitis
perjury
pharisaical
pierrotage
plexure
plumassier
podilegous
pompier
pridian
primogeniture
priscilla
propinquity
proprietorial
protein
pruritus
pudibund
puissant
pulchritudinous
putrilage
putsch
Qatari
quenelle
querimonious
quesadilla
quizzically
quondam
rapprochement
rathskeller
redoubt
regicide
rejuvenescent
relic
renascent
retiary
reticulated
rijsttafel
Roscian
rubella
ruminate
rupicaprine
rutabaga
sabbatical
salaam
sandinista
sapphire
scabbard
schefflera
scherenschnitte
schnecke
scilicet
sciosophy
sclerosis
scrim
scythe
selenic
serang
shamateurism
sherpa
shogunate
Sikhism
skirret
sluggard
sobornost
souvenir
sphygmomanometer
stellated
stomach
stratocracy
syllogize
synapse
synchronization
syncope
tergiversation
termagancy
tetralemma
thanatology
thelytokous
thurible
tilde
tintinnabulation
tombolo
tonitruous
tontiner
topiary
toxophily
transilience
trefoil
trichotillomania
trierarchy
trinket
triskaidekaphobia
tristachyous
trochanter
tropholytic
trouvaille
ulpan
unannotated
unobtrusively
unregenerate
upaithric
vichyssoise
vigintillion
vitrophyre
vorago
vrille
wastrel
Watteau
whodunit
wunderkind
zouave

You can download this list as a PDF file.

I have combined both parts of the list into a single PDF file.

References
1. James Maguire, American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds, p. 139-363

xylophagous combines xyl- and -phagous. xyl- we have run across before in at least one common word, xylophone, and it refers to wood or wooden.

The -phagous ending of xylophagous combines phag + ous.  Phag comes from the Greek verb phagein, meaning ‘to eat’, and the -ous is the standard English adjective suffix.

From this, we derive the meaning of the adjective xylophagous as ‘wood eating’.

Other -phagous words taken from various sections of the Consolidated Word List are:

carpophagous
lichenophagous
mycophagous
oophagous
bibliophagous
ectophagous
hylophagous
phyllophagous
stenophagous
anthropophagous
arachnophagous
bacteriophagic (bacteriophagous)
biophagous
euryphagous
macrophagous
monophagous
oligophagous
ophiophagous
saurophagous
zoophagous

We can guess the meaning of many of these words from our knowledge of common prefixes (mon- or mono- means ‘having one or single’ so we can guess monophagous means ‘having one food’, or ‘feeding on a single food’ etc.)

Greek words are often considered slightly more complex in nature, but these words comprise a single combining form and -phagous.

Of the 64 entries found in W3 ending in the combining form -phagous, 57 of them combine with -phagous by using the vowel ‘o’ (arachn-o-phagous, plasm-o-phagous etc.)¹ The exceptions are:

polyphagous
poephagous
melliphagous / meliphagous  (for the purpose of spelling bee study this can probably be discounted due to variant spellings)
galliphagous
euryphagous
adephagous

It is also good to be aware that many of these words have comparable nouns, taking the -phagy noun combining form (monophagy, polyphagy, sarcophagy etc.) and some may exist in the alternative adjectival form taking the -phagic combining form (bacteriophagic, phyllophagic etc.)

References
1. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary

So our amateur linguistic skills led us to conclude ligniperdous  means ‘having the properties of condemned wood‘.

At this point, we reached for the dictionaries to discover our assessment was not too far from the mark. Unaccustomed with the theological nuances of perdition, we did not make the final, clinching step of equating ‘condemned to hell’ with ‘dead’ or ‘destroyed’. Indeed, the central morpheme -perd- derives from perdere, Latin for ‘to destroy’.

All our dictionaries offer the same concise definition: wood-destroying (OED)¹, that destroys wood (W3)², and destructive of wood (Chambers)³.

As expected, the OED gives an example of the early use of the word from 1832, by Sir Charles Lyell in his Principles of Geology, Vol II, 1832: “It is well known also that beetles, and many other kinds of ligniperdous insects, have been introduced into Great Britain in timber; especially several North American species.“  Searching the Internet for additional examples, we found these astounding (and quite haunting) pictures of camponotus ligniperda.

References
1. The Oxford English Dictionary L, p. 282
2. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, p. 1309
3. The Chambers Dictionary 1993, p. 970

The book recounts class, district, regional, state and, of course, the national bee so the words cover the entire spectrum of difficulty.  Since the list includes a very liberal sprinkling of words asked in Washington, it might appeal more to intermediate and above spellers. I checked all words against W3.

abacus
Acacia
acajou
accompaniment
accordion
acesodyne
achievement
adequate
akropodion
allograph
alluvial
almagest
alopecoid
anaptyxis
antediluvian
anthropomorphic
archipelago
arete
arrogate
arundinaceous
autochthonous
avocation
balancelle
balbriggan
Balearic
Balmoral
Bdellium
beagle
beleaguered
boeotian
bouchon
boudin
boulevardier
bourgeoisie
braggadocio
brethren
browse
Bunraku
cabotinage
cappuccino
captious
Carnauba
cauliflower
chiaroscurist
chicanery
Chihuahua
chimichanga
clavis
commination
condominium
corollary
corposant
corral
corticoline
cortile
craquelure
cribral
cuisine
daguerreotype
delitescent
denazify
desiccate
discuss
distension
dolcissimo
dulcimer
dyeing
ecdysis
ectogenous
edelweiss
electroencephalograph
eleemosynary
elucubrate
empennage
enchilada
encroachment
escharotic
esquamulose
esurient
eudaemonic
faience
fanfaronade
fantoccini
fasciculation
ferrule
forehead
fuliginous
gadarene
gamboge
gaminerie
gamut
genoise
geophagy
Giaour
gigot
gladiolus
glitch
gnathonic
Gomorrah
gradient
graupel
hackamore
harassment
heliotaxis
hemorrhage
heterogeneous
hibachi
horripilation
hydrocephalic
hygrophilous
hyperborean
ichthyology
incinerate
incisor
increscent
infinitesimal
infringement
ingratiate
insouciant
intelligible
intussusception
irradiant
isosceles
jaconet
juniper
keeshond
khan
Kierkegaardian
kimono
kirtle
kiwi
knack
kouros
kulak
labyrinthine
lacertilia
lagniappe
latkes
liturgical
logodaedaly
logorrhea
luftmensch
luxuriance
macerate
macropodous
maculature
mahout
martial
Mediterranean
meiosis
meticulously
mignonette
mimicked
monastery
monotocous
mouchoir
moussaka
murrain
nacelle
narcolepsy
nepenthe
netiquette
Nigerois
numbskull
numen
oblatory
occurrence
oligarchy
omphaloskepsis
onomastics
ophelimity
opsimath
optician
orthostichous
ossification
palimpsest
panmyelopathy
parrhesia
parvenuism
pasigraphy
patella
paucity
pergola
peristalsis
perspicuity
pettifoggery
pharisaical
pharynx
phenology
philippic
photograph
planetary
poimenics
poncho
potato
president
profligacy
prognosis
prolegomenon
promiscuous
pronunciation
propinquity
protocol
psaltery
psittacine
psychiatry
Purim
purview
Qatari
rabbinical
ratatouille
recede
receipt
reconnaissance
referable
reggae
renege
resiliency
revanche
rhinoceros
rhinorrhagia
rhubarb
rhythm
rijsttafel
rorqual
rotulet
Rubicon
rubicund
sacciform
sachem
salicylate
sanitarium
sarcophagus
sarwan
Satan
schappe
scheherazadian
schwarmerei
sciolism
senary
senescing
separate
shalloon
shrieval
silicicolous
solecism
solipsistic
sophrosyne
soubrette
springerle
stalactite
stationary
stereopticon
strengthen
strenuosity
succedaneum
sumpsimus
supernaculum
supersede
sycophant
synovial
syzygy
tarmac
telencephalon
tenor
termagant
tessellated
testaceous
trenchant
trianon
triglycerides
triskaidekophobia
triskelion
turgescent
ullaged
vaccary
vacillant
variegated
vibrissae
vilipend
vimineous
vinegarroon
virescence
virgule
vitrophyre
vivisepulture
vouchsafe
warison
Weimaraner
worsted
zarzuela
zetetic

You can also download this list as a PDF file. Look out for part II, to follow shortly.

References
1. James Maguire, American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds, p. 1-138

Extravaganza is one of my favorite words, along with influenza. I like extravaganza because of the way it’s spelled with a series of 4 A’s. Its etymology is Italian from Medieval Latin. (I like this word so much I decided to use it as my pen-name on this blog!)

The same reason goes for influenza. The spelling seems so different from other words. The etymology of influenza is also Italian from Medieval Latin.

Another word I really like is balalaika because it is easy to remember.  Like extravaganza, it also contains a series of 4 A’s.  Balalaika is a Russian word.

There must be something about me and words ending in an ‘a’.

It was an infernally hot afternoon, above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and we spent much of it at repose, beneath the whir of the ceiling fan.  Speller Primus perused a copy of The Blue Lotus¹, a comic book in Hergé‘s classic series, The Adventures of Tintin. And then, “Who’s Don Quixote?” Thus we were led to today’s word of the day.

Word: quix·ot·ic
Pronunciation:
Part of speech: adjective
Etymology: fr. quixote, after Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605, 1615) by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
Meaning: idealistic and utterly impractical, especially marked by rash lofty romantic ideas or chivalrous action doomed to fail²

The OED sheds a little more light on the alternative pronunciation, key-hotee, of the noun Quixote. Quixote derives from the Spanish word quijote which is a cuisse (a piece of armor worn on the thigh.)³

References
1. The Blue Lotus, Mammoth Books, 1990
2. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, p. 1868
3. The Oxford English Dictionary Q-R, p. 75

I love this word! Admittedly, not an easy word to slip into everyday discourse, but a delight to say with its staccato of shortening syllables.

English speakers seeing weissnichtwo for the first time invariably wrestle with its pronunciation. The temptation to anglicize the last three letters seems too great leading most to pronounce the word with an ending tü.  However, noting its Germanic origin, it easily fragments in to three common German words: weiss (part of the verb wissen, to know), nicht (not) and wo (where), furnishing a literal translation as ‘know not where’.

Weissnichtwo is a spelling bee favorite, sometimes appearing in the early rounds of the National Spelling Bee (it was spelled correctly in round two of this year’s national bee) and mentioned by several spellers over the years as a favorite word.

Word: weiss·nicht·wo
Pronunciation: vice-nik(t)-vo
Part of speech: noun, usually capitalized
Etymology: fr. Weissnichtwo, imaginary city in the satirical work Sartor Resartus (1833-34) by Thomas Carlyle, fr. G weiss nicht wo (I) know not where.
Meaning: an indefinite, unknown, or imaginary place¹

References
1. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, p. 2594