I’m feeling loquacious

Akeelah and the Bee

I watched the Akeelah and the Bee recently and absolutely adored it. There was so much about the movie that I liked — Akeelah’s love for words, her teachers’ confidence in her ability and success, the rousing support of her National Spelling Bee quest by her community — even the local gang bangers and the bullies at her school — and even the childhood romance between Akeelah and Javier was perfectly done. My favorite parts? The gangster telling Akeelah’s brother to stay with her and help her spell (even though bro was supposed to go off with the gangster) and Javier heroically and comically stalling for time so Akeelah would get back to the stage and not get disqualified at the regional spelling bee. “Could you use it in a song?” That was awesome.

The movie made me think about all the words in the movie that were used. I lifted the list from Wikipedia, check em out:

Word Meaning Significance to the film
Xanthosis A yellow discolor of skin. Akeelah purposely spelled the word wrong, trying to give Dylan a chance to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, although he deliberately misspells it as well. First mentioned at Woodland Hills by Dylan Chiu to Akeelah.
Pulchritude A great physical beauty. (Derived from the latin word Pulcher.) Akeelah’s winning word of the National Spelling Bee. First mentioned when Joshua Larabee is testing Akeelah’s vocabulary at Crenshaw.
Pluviosity A state of being much rain The word Akeelah spelled after a discussion with her mother during the state spelling bee.
Ratatouille A vegetable stew Javier used this word to try and stall time before Akeelah comes back from discussion with her mother. Javier requested the judge to repeat, define, use it in a sentence, and even to sing it in a song.
Ratiocinate To reason methodically and logically The first word Akeelah spells at the National Bee.
Argillaceous Of or pertaining to matter that is comprised of clay (from Latin “Argilla” meaning clay). The one word that Akeelah stumbles on but eventually spells correctly during the national bee.
Miscible Able to be mixed together into a homogeneous mixture Akeelah spells this word during the Scripps National Bee.
Palynological Of or relating to the scientific study of spores and pollen. One of the words Akeelah correctly spells during the championship round of the National Bee.
Scheherazadian Weaving story after story without apparent end. (Scheherazade was the storytelling sultan’s wife in The Arabian Nights Entertainments, who told stories so engaging that her husband repeatedly spares her life to hear the next installment.) One of the words Dylan spelled in the championship round of the National Bee.
Merovingian A dynasty of Frankish kings that ruled from the fifth to the eighth century. Javier spelled this word wrong in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, finishing in fifth place.
Logorrhea Excessive talkativeness; using many long words to express a simple idea. Winning word for Dylan Chiu.
Prestidigitation Sleight of hand First word Joshua Larabee tested Akeelah on.
Xylem A tube in plants used to transport nutrients and water up to the top of the plant. One of the words Javier spelled in one of the spelling bees.
Doubt Uncertainty The first word Akeelah spelled in the Crenshaw Spelling Bee.
Fanciful Imaginative or fictional, whimsical. The second to last word spelled in the Crenshaw Spelling Bee, enabling Akeelah to be the Crenshaw Spelling Bee winner.
Pterodactyl A prehistoric flying reptile. Used in the Crenshaw Spelling Bee as a “trick word”, because everyone knows it starts with ‘P’ instead of ‘T’.
Psoriasis A skin condition in which red scaly patches to appear on the skin. One of the words posed by Akeelah to Javier and two other members of the Woodland Hills spelling bee study group.
Synecdoche Using a part of something is used to refer to the whole, or a whole to refer to a part. Word spelled in one of the rounds in the competition.
Grovel To humble oneself in an abject manner. The first word spelled in the film.
Ambidextrous Skillful; deceitful; able to use both hands at an equal level. A word given to Akeelah in the Crenshaw Bee by Dr. Larabee.
Placid Calm or peaceful. Third word spelled in the film.
Love In a state of a deep and serious attraction to another. Last word spelled in the film.
Staphylococci A genus of gram positive bacteria (plural) Given to Akeelah to spell by Dr. Larabee in his garden. Staphylococci was the winning word of the 1987 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Loquacious Fluent or excessive talk A word spelled in the Regional bee.
Embrocation Applying of lotion to the skin A word spelled incorrectly as “embrication” by a girl in the regional bee.
Jambalaya Rice cooked with meat and vegetables and seasoned with herbs. A word spelled incorrectly at the state bee.
Jacquard A fabric of intricate variegated weave or pattern A word Akeelah and Dr. Larabee spelled before the state bee.
prestidigitation Sleight of hand used in performing magic tricks
Effervescent Producing gas in the form of tiny bubbles A word that given by Dr. Larabee
Xylem Plant tissue that carries water and dissolved minerals from the roots through the stem and leaves.It also helps to support the plant and is the main constituent of wood.
Gabbro A dark coarse-grained basic igneous rock containing calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene.
Pastiche A piece of creative work, for example in literature, drama, or art, that imitates and often satirizes another work or style
Ratatouille Dish of stewed vegetables, originally from southern France, usually consisting of tomatoes, onions, peppers, aubergines, and courgettes cooked slowly in olive oil.
Madrigal A song with parts for several usually unaccompanied voices that was popular in England in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Doublure A lining, especially one made of leather or highly decorated, inside the cover of a book.
Manifest Clear to see or understand.
Cabalistic teachings of the alchemists.
Cognizant Being fully aware or having knowledge of something (formal).
Tzigane A member of a Romany people, especially one from Hungary.
Psalmody the singing of psalms in divine worship.
Argillaceous used to describe sedimentary rock that is made up of fine silt or clay particles.
Logorrhoea excessive talkativeness, especially when the words are uncontrolled or incoherent, as is seen in certain psychiatric illness.

I’m going to have to add some of these words to my favorites list. My favorite word of all time is highfalutin, which means pompous, haughty or pretentious. I mean, the word itself actually sounds like it means — highfalutin. LOL. I love saying it.

Leave me some of your favorite words in the comments!