'Koinonia,' Greek Word Meaning Christian Fellowship, Winning Word at Scripps Nat'l Spelling Bee
The winning word for the Scripps national spelling bee was a Greek work used for spiritual community, usually associated with Christian fellowship, and appears in the New Testament several times.
The winner, 14-year-old Karthik Nemmani from McKinney, Texas correctly spelled the word "koinonia" on Thursday, which occurs 20 times in 18 verses in the Greek concordance of the King James Version of the Bible, according to Blue Letter Bible.
"Koinonia" — which is most commonly pronounced "koy-nuh-NEE-uh" — is defined as "intimate spiritual communion and participative sharing in a common religious commitment and spiritual community," according to CNN. Dictionary.com defines the word more simply to mean "communion, fellowship," from the root word koinos, which means "common, ordinary." Contest sponsor Merriam-Webster defines the word as "the Christian fellowship or body of believers."
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The website Got Questions offers what koinonia shoud look like: "Scripture commands us to be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10), honor one another (Romans 12:10), live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16; 1 Peter 3:8), accept one another (Romans 15:7), serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13), be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32), admonish one another (Colossians 3:16), encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:13), spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24), offer hospitality (1 Peter 4:9), and love one another (1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:11; 3:23; 4:7; 4:11-12). That is what true biblical koinonia should look like."
The Scripps national spelling bee occurred in National Harbor, Maryland, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center this week and was broadcast on ESPN.
Nemmani beat out 516 other competitors this year, the largest number in the bee's history. The spellers ranged in age from 8 to 15 and hailed from all 50 states and a few other countries; 113 of those 516 spellers had previously competed at the national bee at least once before.
"It requires a lot of work and dedication," the eigth grade champion said of his study habits and preparation.
"I typed up words from the dictionary and spreadsheets and then I'd review them after I was done. I also used online tools."
This was his first trip to the national bee, but he had previously gone up against 12-year-old Naysa Modi, who is from Frisco, who was the runner-up.
Modi had won in their county spelling bee but Nemmani triumphed Thursday, accurately spelling words such as "aver," "paucispiral," "ankyloglossia," "haecceitas" and ultimately "koinonia" to win the contest.
His winnings include an upcoming appearance on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel's late night televsion, and a $40,000 cash prize.
When asked at what moment he knew he could spell the word that won him the title, he replied, to laugther: "When I heard it."
The first Scripps National Spelling Bee occurred in June of 1925. Media company E.W. Scripps has run the show since 1941.
