SpellingBee

Being asked to spell “marocain” to win the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee seemed barely a challenge for Ananya Vinay.

She had already survived 36 rounds of competition and along the way had aced the spelling of words such as “konditorei,” “heiligenschein” and “wayzgoose.” (Take your best guess at the definitions, then see the answers at the bottom. But no peeking at a dictionary — of the digital or dead-tree variety.)

Then Ananya was challenged with “marocain” — a dress fabric made with a warp of silk or rayon and a filling of other yarns. She asked for the definition, its part of speech and language of origin.

She knew if she got this correct, she would be the champion.

She looked down, paused for six seconds, repeated the word, licked her lips and spelled it slowly and deliberately.

As the announcer offered his congratulations and the audience at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., roared, Ananya remained expressionless, except for the slightest lift in one cheek.

She swayed from right to left, a movement that only stopped as her father, Vinay Sreekumar, rushed to the stage and gave her a bear hug.

“It was a shock to actually hear it,” Ananya, 12, of Fresno, Calif., said on Friday, referring to the announcement that she had won. “It was like a dream. I was there but I was watching it almost.”

She only began to beam when her mother, Anupama Poliyedath, and 7-year-old-brother Achuth, joined her father on the stage and hugged her amid the falling confetti. She got some help lifting the 10-pound trophy above her head.

[Video: 12-Year Old Wins 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee - ESPN (June 1, 2017) Watch on YouTube.]

Mr. Sreekumar had been in the audience close to the stage, watching intently as the final word was announced. His elbows bent and palms out, he pumped his hands rhythmically. Ananya said that was a signal for her to stay calm and focus.

Ananya, who is a sixth grader at Fugman Elementary School in Fresno, said she studied about two hours a day for a year. In particular, she said, she analyzed the roots of words.

On Friday, she was thrust into the media spotlight after only three hours of sleep. She was interviewed on television programs such as “Good Morning America,” “Today” and “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”

In an interview on “New Day” on CNN, she was asked by hosts Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota to spell “covfefe,” the bewildering nonword President Trump used in a tweet early on Wednesday morning that set off a stampede of speculation and joking on social media.

When she hesitated after asking its pronunciation and language of origin, Mr. Cuomo ribbed her: “Stop stalling! Do you know how to spell this word?”

When she spelled it “cofefe,” Mr. Cuomo pronounced it “good enough” and Ms. Camerota said: “Close. You win.”

America's newest spelling champ unable to properly spell President Trump's nonsense word "covfefe" in on-air test https://t.co/z4rEho29jQ

— New Day (@NewDay) June 2, 2017

As national champion, she won $40,000, a $2,500 savings bond, reference books and a Kindle e-reader.

The bee began on Tuesday with 291 contestants who were among the top .000026 percent of more than 11 million students who competed in classrooms, schools and local events around the country, according to contest organizers.

How about you? How did you do with the definitions for those words Ananya spelled correctly in earlier rounds?

According to Merriam-Webster, a konditorei is a shop that sells confectionery or pastry; heiligenschein is a bright light around the shadow of a person’s head caused by diffraction and reflection of sunlight by dewdrops; and wayzgoose is a printer’s annual outing.

Correction: June 02, 2017

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled