Can you define Taurokathapsia? THESE are the words that won Indian-origin Shrey Parikh America’s biggest Spelling Bee
Shrey Parikh, a teen of Indian descent, has clinched the top spot in the biggest Spelling Bee. To secure the win, he correctly spelt words like “Cywyddau,” “Taurokathapsia,” and even “Bhubaneshwar”, but what do they actually mean? Scroll down to find out.
Indian origin teen wins big
Indian-origin Shrey Parikh, 14, just won America’s biggest Scripps National Spelling Bee. The winning moment came after a long tiebreaker round, where both competitors spelt tricky words like “Cywyddau” or “Taurokathapsia”. Most of us wouldn’t have heard of these words, let alone spell them correctly, so let’s open the dictionary and see what they mean.
Bromocriptine: the winning word
Shrey’s winning word was “Bromocriptine”, which is an ergot alkaloid derivative that mimics the activity of dopamine. It is used to manage Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and pituitary tumours, among others.
Cywyddau
Cywyddau is the plural form of “cywydd”, a highly stylised form of traditional Welsh poetry. It is widely regarded for its complexity, composed of seven-syllable lines arranged in rhyming couplets.
Taurokathapsia
“Taurokathapsia” is a word revived from Ancient Greek referring to the ritual sport from the Bronze Age Minoan civilisation, which involved vaulting, or leaping, over charging bulls. It is commonly known as “bull-leaping”.
Natchitoches
“Natchitoches” is a historic city in Louisiana, United States. It is Louisiana’s oldest city, established in 1714, and is celebrated for its historic charm, heritage, and massive Christmas holiday celebrations.
Philepitta
Shrey barely broke a sweat as he swiftly spelt “philepitta”, a genus of songbirds endemic to Madagascar.
Bhubaneshwar: the perplexing word
Shrey revealed that the one that almost stumped him was “Bhubaneshwar”. Bhubaneshwar is a city in India, known as the “Temple City of India”. It is also the capital of the state of Odisha.
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