Spelling Bee Words: Common or Proper?
Updated 2024-11-10
In many Spelling Bee puzzles, words that exist as both common and proper nouns (e.g., manhattan, panama, etc.) generate many comments and queries amongst Bee players.
LexiConnexxions reviewed the entire lexicon of nearly 13,400 Bee words and found more than 100 words that exist in both capitalized and uncapitalized forms.
The list includes words that we might see in both capitalized and uncapitalized forms that can be:1 – Names of people from real life (e.g., boycott, cardigan, guppy) or from literature and myth (e.g., puck, yahoo, triton)2 – Real or fictional place names (e.g., tuxedo, arcadia, rugby, hackney, littleneck) 3 – Brands, things, beliefs, customs (e.g., yule, bible, automat)
This list does not include:Toponyms and eponyms that have been modified so that they differ from their source words (e.g., calico).Honorifics that may be capitalized (e.g., mahatma)Brand names derived from common words (e.g., acrobat)Common nouns that may be used as given names (e.g., lily, bill)Currencies that are often capitalizedGeographic features that may be capitalized in place names (e.g., hill)
Words marked with an asterisk * have been in past Bees but have been discontinued.
In many Spelling Bee puzzles, words that exist as both common and proper nouns (e.g., manhattan, panama, etc.) generate many comments and queries amongst Bee players.
LexiConnexxions reviewed the entire lexicon of nearly 13,400 Bee words and found more than 100 words that exist in both capitalized and uncapitalized forms.
The list includes words that we might see in both capitalized and uncapitalized forms that can be:1 – Names of people from real life (e.g., boycott, cardigan, guppy) or from literature and myth (e.g., puck, yahoo, triton)2 – Real or fictional place names (e.g., tuxedo, arcadia, rugby, hackney, littleneck) 3 – Brands, things, beliefs, customs (e.g., yule, bible, automat)
This list does not include:Toponyms and eponyms that have been modified so that they differ from their source words (e.g., calico).Honorifics that may be capitalized (e.g., mahatma)Brand names derived from common words (e.g., acrobat)Common nouns that may be used as given names (e.g., lily, bill)Currencies that are often capitalizedGeographic features that may be capitalized in place names (e.g., hill)
Words marked with an asterisk * have been in past Bees but have been discontinued.
Spelling Bee Words That May Be Either Common or Proper Nouns and Adjectives
PLACES, including those from literature and myth
bantam
chadchianticolognecongadumdumlido*angoraantarcticarborioarcadiaarcadianarcticbabelbikinibolognabourboncanarycaymanchiantichihuahuachinacognaccuracaodelftdonnybrookduffel / dufflehackneyjavalandau*limalittleneckmagentamanhattanmanilamarathonmeccamochamorocconicepanamapantheonpekephoenixraglanrugbytroytupelotuxedo
PEOPLE, including those from literature and myth
apollo*argonautblimpboycottbrainiacbruinbubbacapletcardigancarpacciocolacupiddaphnedoilyfloragageganachegorgon
gothgraygroggunkguppyhydrahymenjuliennekarmakelpielilliputianlynchantifamacadammafiamalamutemalapropmargaritamaroonmartianmartinmick*mogulmohawkmunchkinnapoleonnewtonottomanpapacypavlovapuckpygmytartartikititantritonvalentinevoltwattyahooyente
BRANDS, BELIEFS, THINGS, etc.
automatbiblecanolacatholicepiphanykarmakelpiemoxienirvananoelodeonpavlovapianolapinotquaaludetiffanytitanictorahyule