The 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee kicks off on Wednesday, with the preliminary round of competition before the semifinals and finals on Thursday.
While there is a long road to the finals and hundreds of words that will be spelled throughout the competition, it will all come down to one final word with the first-place finish on the line.
Before we get to this year’s winning word, we decided to take a look back through the storied history of the Scripps National Spelling Bee to see ever winning word dating back to when it all began in 1925.
What was the final word in every competition to date?
Below is the list of every winning word in Scripps National Spelling Bee history for the official website:
| YEAR | WORD | CHAMPION | SPONSOR |
1925 | gladiolus | Frank Neuhauser | Louisville Courier-Journal, |
1926 | cerise | Pauline Bell | Louisville Courier-Journal, |
1927 | luxuriance | Dean Lucas | Akron Beacon Journal, |
1928 | albumen | Betty Robinson | South Bend News-Tribune, |
1929 | asceticism | Virginia Hogan | The Omaha World-Herald, |
1930 | fracas | Helen Jensen | Des Moines Register & Tribune, |
1931 | foulard | Ward Randall | White Hall Register-Republican, |
1932 | knack | Dorothy Greenwald | Des Moines Register & Tribune, |
1933 | torsion | Alma Roach | Akron Beacon Journal, |
1934 | deteriorating | Sarah Wilson | Portland Evening Express, |
1935 | intelligible | Clara Mohler | Akron Beacon Journal, |
1936 | interning | Jean Trowbridge | Des Moines Register & Tribune, |
1937 | promiscuous | Waneeta Beckley | Louisville Courier-Journal, |
1938 | sanitarium | Marian Richardson | Louisville Times, |
1939 | canonical | Elizabeth Ann Rice | Worcester Telegram & Gazette, |
1940 | therapy | Laurel Kuykendall | The Knoxville News-Sentinel, |
1941 | initials | Louis Edward Sissman | Detroit News, |
1942 | sacrilegious | Richard Earnhart | El Paso Herald-Post, |
1946 | semaphore | John McKinney | Des Moines Register & Tribune, |
1947 | chlorophyll | Mattie Lou Pollard | Atlanta Journal, |
1948 | psychiatry | Jean Chappelear | Akron Beacon Journal, |
1949 | dulcimer | Kim Calvin | Canton Repository, |
1950 | meticulosity | Diana Reynard and Colquitt Dean | Cleveland Press, Cleveland, Ohio, and |
1951 | insouciant | Irving Belz | Memphis Press Scimitar, |
1952 | vignette | Doris Ann Hall | Winston-Salem Journal, |
1953 | soubrette | Elizabeth Hess | Arizona Republic, |
1954 | transept | William Cashore | Norristown Times Herald, |
1955 | crustaceology | Sandra Sloss | St. Louis Globe-Democrat, |
1956 | condominium | Melody Sachko | The Pittsburgh Press, |
1957 | schappe | Sandra Owen and Dana Bennett | Canton Repository, Canton, Ohio, and |
1958 | syllepsis | Jolitta Schlehuber | Topeka Daily Capital, |
1959 | catamaran | Joel Montgomery | Rocky Mountain News, |
1960 | eudaemonic | Henry Feldman | The Knoxville News-Sentinel, |
1961 | smaragdine | John Capehart | Tulsa Tribune, |
1962 | esquamulose | Nettie Crawford¹ and Michael Day | El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso, Texas, and |
1963 | equipage | Glen Van Slyke III | The Knoxville News-Sentinel, |
1964 | sycophant | William Kerek | Akron Beacon Journal, |
1965 | eczema | Michael Kerpan Jr. | Tulsa Tribune, |
1966 | ratoon | Robert A. Wake | Houston Chronicle, |
1967 | Chihuahua | Jennifer Reinke | The Omaha World-Herald, |
1968 | abalone | Robert L. Walters | The Topeka Daily Capital, |
1969 | interlocutory | Susan Yoachum | Dallas Morning News, |
1970 | croissant | Libby Childress | Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel, |
1971 | shalloon | Jonathan Knisely | Philadelphia Bulletin, |
1972 | macerate | Robin Kral | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, |
1973 | vouchsafe | Barrie Trinkle | Fort Worth Press, |
1974 | hydrophyte | Julie Ann Junkin | Birmingham Post-Herald, |
1975 | incisor | Hugh Tosteson | San Juan Star, |
1976 | narcolepsy | Tim Kneale | Syracuse Herald Journal-American, |
1977 | cambist | John Paola | The Pittsburgh Press, |
1978 | deification | Peg McCarthy | The Topeka Capital-Journal, |
1979 | maculature | Katie Kerwin | Rocky Mountain News, |
1980 | elucubrate | Jacques Bailly | Rocky Mountain News, |
1981 | sarcophagus | Paige Pipkin | El Paso Herald-Post, |
1982 | psoriasis | Molly Dieveney | Rocky Mountain News, |
1983 | Purim | Blake Giddens² | El Paso Herald-Post, |
1984 | luge | Daniel Greenblatt | Loudoun Times-Mirror, |
1985 | milieu | Balu Natarajan | Chicago Tribune, |
1986 | odontalgia | Jon Pennington | The Patriot News, |
1987 | staphylococci | Stephanie Petit | The Pittsburgh Press, |
1988 | elegiacal | Rageshree Ramachandran | The Sacramento Bee, |
1989 | spoliator | Scott Isaacs | Rocky Mountain News, |
1990 | fibranne | Amy Marie Dimak | The Seattle Times, |
1991 | antipyretic | Joanne Lagatta | The Wisconsin State Journal, |
1992 | lyceum | Amanda Goad | The Richmond News Leader, |
1993 | kamikaze | Geoff Hooper | The Commercial Appeal, |
1994 | antediluvian | Ned G. Andrews | The Knoxville News-Sentinel, |
1995 | xanthosis | Justin Tyler Carroll³ | The Commercial Appeal, |
1996 | vivisepulture | Wendy Guey | The Palm Beach Post, |
1997 | euonym | Rebecca Sealfon | Daily News, |
1998 | chiaroscurist | Jody-Anne Maxwell | Phillips & Phillips Stationery Suppliers, Ltd., |
1999 | logorrhea | Nupur Lala | The Tampa Tribune, |
2000 | demarche | George Abraham Thampy | St. Louis Post-Dispatch, |
2001 | succedaneum | Sean Conley | Aitkin Independent Age, |
2002 | prospicience | Pratyush Buddiga | Rocky Mountain News, |
2003 | pococurante | Sai R. Gunturi | The Dallas Morning News, |
2004 | autochthonous | David Tidmarsh | South Bend Tribune, |
2005 | appoggiatura | Anurag Kashyap | San Diego Union-Tribune, |
2006 | Ursprache | Kerry Close | Asbury Park Press/Home News Tribune, |
2007 | serrefine | Evan M. O’Dorney | Contra Costa Times, |
2008 | guerdon | Sameer Mishra | Journal and Courier, |
| 2009 | Laodicean | Kavya Shivashankar | Olathe News, |
| 2010 | stromuhr | Anamika Veeramani | The Plain Dealer, |
2011 | cymotrichous | Sukanya Roy | Times Leader, |
| 2012 | guetapens | Snigdha Nandipati | U-T San Diego, |
| 2013 | knaidel | Arvind Mahankali | Daily News, |