8 finalists were named co-champions of the 2019 national spelling bee — here are the definitions of all the winning words from the last 25 years

AP/Susan Walsh

• Early Friday morning, the Scripps National Spelling Bee announced an eight-way tie for the championship title.
• ESPN first broadcasted the event in 1994; over the past 25 years, contestants have spelled a variety of challenging words to earn the $50,000 prize.
• We listed the winning words from the past quarter century, along with their definitions from Merriam-Webster.
• Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

This year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee had not one, but eight champions.

Each of the winners correctly spelled their given word: auslaut, erysipelas, bougainvillea, aiguillette, pendeloque, palama, cernuous, and odylic. A mix of adjectives and nouns, the words’ definitions range from the webbing on the feet of aquatic birds (palama) to a genus of American shrubs (bougainvillea).

Since the spelling bee’s inception in 1925, winners have spelled increasingly difficult words to earn the coveted trophy and $50,000 prize. The past 25 years — broadcasted live on ESPN and ABC — include a diverse group of dictionary entries, from medical jargon to political terminology.

Read more: The National Spelling Bee ended with 8 winners — here’s the winning word from every spelling bee since 1925

This year, the Bee ran out of challenging words to give contestants, ending the final round with an "unprecedented" eight-way tie: Rishik Gandhasri, Erin Howard, Saketh Sundar, Shruthika Padhy, Sohum Sukhatankar, Abhijay Kodali, Christopher Serrao and Rohan Raja. The New York Times’ Daniel Victor tweeted that the co-champions beat the dictionary.

Keep reading for a look at the winning words from the past quarter century, from "xanthosis" in 1995 to this year’s eight.

1995: xanthosis

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Definition of xanthosis: (noun) yellow discoloration of the skin from abnormal causes; a virus disease of the strawberry plant characterized by crinkling and curling, yellowing and dwarfing of the leaves, and stunting of the entire plant

1996: vivisepulture

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Definition of vivisepulture: (noun) the act or practice of burying alive

1997: euonym

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Definition of euonym: (noun) a name well suited to the person, place, or thing named

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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• 7 companies that sparked controversy for copying another company’s logo

SEE ALSO: Most of the Scripps National Spelling Bee champions come from Texas. Here are the other states with the most winners

Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Marissa Perino)