A Florida eighth grader correctly spelled “psammophile” to win the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday.
After fifteen rounds of the popular competition, Dev Shah took home the crown for correctly spelling the Greek-derived word defined as “an organism that prefers or thrives in sandy soils or areas,” according to Merriam-Webster. (RELATED: Multi-Talented 14-Year-Old Zaila Avant-Garde Makes History At National Spelling Bee)
UnBEElievable! #Speller36 Dev Shah representing the SNSB Region One Bee in Largo, Florida is the Champion of the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee. His winning word? Psammophile. 🐝 #spellingbee pic.twitter.com/ebM8jUU6xZ
— Scripps National Spelling Bee (@ScrippsBee) June 2, 2023
Shah appeared quick to identify the Greek root words “psammo” meaning “sand ” and “phile” meaning “lover” as assistant judge Brian Siestema told him he was on the right track, according to a video posted by the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
In the previous round Shah rattled off “bathypitometer” without asking for the word’s information, according to the Washington Post.
Charlotte Walsh from Northern Virginia placed second after misspelling the word “daviely” as “daevilick,” according to the Scripps Bee’s website.
With Shah’s win, he will receive $50,o00 in cash, a commemorative medal, and the coveted championship trophy, as shared by the competition’s website.
The website also states that the champion will receive a $2,500 cash prize and reference library, $2,000 Scholastic Dollars to be donated to the school selected by the champion and $4 of reference works from the Encyclopædia Britannica.
This was Shah’s third year at the Scripps Bee. He tied for 51st place in 2019 and 76th place in 2021, his biography states.
The Bee is the nation’s longest-running program, having launched in 1925, according to the Scripps Bee’s promotional material. Since then, 11 million students each year compete in spelling bee competitions to try to make it to the national competition.
This year’s competition began with 229 spellers Tuesday, the E.W. Scripps Company reported. Spellers were eliminated over the next several days after misspelling their words or guessing wrong on the oral multiple-choice vocabulary questions, according to the results posted by the Scripps Bee.