Spelling Bee Presentation Words 1. Incantation - Noun- Latin Some - - PDF document

Spelling Bee Presentation Words

• 1. Incantation - Noun- Latin Some cultures believe that ‘spell’ means ‘‘a form of magic

words, incantation’’ and creates an idea that words have powers.

• 2. Boon- Noun- Middle English- voluntary help, given to a farmer by his neighbors, in

time of harvest, haymaking. The origin of the word Bee can be traced back to boon, from the English dialect.

• 3. Entertainment- Noun- Latin- Bees would provide food and entertainment to reward the

people helping.

• 4. Competitive- Adjective- Latin Bees could also be competitive to keep people working.
• 5. Elementary- Adjective- Latin- Early competitions used The Elementary Spelling Book to

get their words, which by 1883 had sold more than 80 million copies.

• 6. Knitting- Noun- Middle English- By the 1820s, other bees began popping up like

knitting bees due to increased popularity.

• 7. Matches- Noun- Greek - In the 1840s they were known as spelling matches.
• 8. Teaching- Noun- Old English- The spelling bee was used as a teaching device in

American schools.

• 9. Erroneously – Adverb- Latin- Educators erroneously assumed that spelling indicated

intellectual capacity

• 10. Competing – Verb- Latin- Students would spell out loud, competing for the honor of

the best class speller.

• 11. Communities - Noun- Latin in the Midwest communities held spelling matches for

evening entertainment.

• 12. Hoosier- Noun- American- In 1871 The Hoosier Schoolmaster was the first paper to

print the term “spelling bee.”

• 13. Admission- Noun- Latin- in 1874 competitions started charging an admission fee for

contestants, but handed out prizes.

• 14. Vaudeville- Noun- French- Some spelling bees ran as acts in Vaudeville shows.
• 15. Eastern- Adjective- Old English- Most of the ideas took place in the Eastern United

States, but quickly spread to the West.

• 16. Fever- Noun- French- In 1875 a newspaper in Ohio had the headline “The spelling fever is

spreading rapidly”

• 17. Attenuated- Verb- Latin- The next month, a Californian newspaper ran, “The spelling fever

is playing bob with our pet phrases; ‘too diaphanously attenuated’ is now the substitute for ‘too thin.’”

• 18. Elocution- Noun- Latin- Schools began using bees as an elocution exercise for their

students.

• 19. Pennsylvania- Noun- Welsh- In 1875 Bucks County located in Pennsylvania was the

first recorded county to hold a spelling bee.

• 20. Mania- Noun- Greek - In 1876 a magazine uses the term spelling mania to describe the

current status, and it says it has crossed the pond over to England.

• 21. Redefined- Verb- Latin- The popularity of spelling bees redefined the word bee to

mean public competitions, like today’s geography bee.

• 22. Progressive – Adjective – French- The popularity of spelling bees declined when the

progressive education movement caught fire.

• 23. Died- Verb- Old Norse- By 1878 the spelling bee craze had died down, and went back

to being popular in a low key way.

• 24. Spelldown- Noun- American- Another term used for spelling bees was spelldown, used

around 1900; based off ‘hoe-downs.’

• 25. Louisville- Noun- American- The first national spelling bee occurred in Louisville

Kentucky in 1925

• 26. Eight- Noun- Latin- There were eight contestants in the original spelling bee.

• 27. Gladiolus- Noun- Latin - The first winner won with the word Gladiolus.
• 28. Exception- Noun- Latin - Since 1925, there has always been a Scripps Spelling Bee,

with the exception of 1943-1945 because of the war.

• 29. Scripps- Noun- American in 1941 Scripps Howard became the official sponsor of the

spelling bee.

• 30. Broadcast- Verb – Old English It was first broadcast in 1946 on nbc
• 31. Euonym- Noun- Greek - In 1997 the first homeschooled champion won with the word,

Euonym.

• 32. Akeelah- Proper Noun- Arabic - Movies like Akeelah and the Bee and Bee Season brought

even more attention to the spelling bee craze.

• 33. Prime- Adjective- Latin- 2006 became the first time the winner was broadcast live in prime

time.

• 34. Boycott- Verb- Irish - In 2010 Protestors boycotted the bee in order to put their message out

there, which was to simplify spelling.

• 35. Million- Noun- Italian- Nine million students across the country participate in school

and city spelling bees each year.

• 36. Qualify- Verb- Latin- Only 250 students qualify for nationals each year.
• 37. Dictionary- Noun- Latin- Words for the national spelling bee can be found in the

Merriam Webster dictionary.

• 38. Thirty- Noun – Middle English - The cash prize for contestants is thirty thousand dollars.
• 39. Texas – Noun- Native American- Texas with Ohio have the most state champions with

nine each.

• 40. Americana- Noun- American- Spelling Bees are considered ‘pure americana’ because

we are the only country that really has them and make a big deal about them.