It seems like more spellers are asking more questions about the language of origin, definition and part of speech in these early rounds than they have in past years.
Some simply want to confirm the word they're hearing is the word they know. Others are asking more in-depth questions to suss out the spelling.
Upon hearing his word, "endophilic," South Windsor, Connecticut fifth grader Keshav Ramesh (Speller 32) asked, among other things, whether the word contained the Greek root "phyl" meaning having a love of. It did. He asked about other roots that were not listed.
Keshav spelled the word correctly. This is his second time at the Bee; he tied for 43rd place last year.