8 finalists were named co-champions of the 2019 national spelling bee — here are the definitions of all the winning words

• Early Friday morning, the Scripps National Spelling Bee announced an eight-way tie for the championship title.
• ESPN first broadcasted the event in 1994; over the past 25 years, contestants have spelled a variety of challenging words to earn the $50,000 prize.
• We listed the winning words from the past quarter century, along with their definitions from Merriam-Webster.
• Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

This year’s spelling bee had not one, but eight champions.

Each of the winners correctly spelled their given word: auslaut, erysipelas, bougainvillea, aiguillette, pendeloque, palama, cernuous, and odylic. A mix of adjectives and nouns, the words’ definitions range from the webbing on the feet of aquatic birds (palama) to a genus of American shrubs (bougainvillea).

Since the spelling bee’s inception in 1925, winners have spelled increasingly difficult words to earn the coveted trophy and $50,000 prize. The past 25 years – broadcasted live on ESPN and ABC – include a diverse group of dictionary entries, from medical jargon to political terminology.

Read more: The National Spelling Bee ended with 8 winners – here’s the winning word from every spelling bee since 1925

This year, the Bee ran out of challenging words to give contestants, ending the final round with an "unprecedented" eight-way tie: Rishik Gandhasri, Erin Howard, Saketh Sundar, Shruthika Padhy, Sohum Sukhatankar, Abhijay Kodali, Christopher Serrao and Rohan Raja. The New York Times' Daniel Victor tweeted that the co-champions beat the dictionary.

Keep reading for a look at the winning words from the past quarter century, from "xanthosis" in 1995 to this year's eight.

1995: xanthosis

Definition of xanthosis: (noun) yellow discoloration of the skin from abnormal causes; a virus disease of the strawberry plant characterized by crinkling and curling, yellowing and dwarfing of the leaves, and stunting of the entire plant

1996: vivisepulture

Definition of vivisepulture: (noun) the act or practice of burying alive

1997: euonym

Definition of euonym: (noun) a name well suited to the person, place, or thing named

1998: chiaroscurist

Definition of chiaroscurist: (noun) an artist who specializes in chiaroscuro

1999: logorrhea

Definition of logorrhea: (noun) excessive and often incoherent talkativeness or wordiness

2000: démarche

Definition of démarche: (noun) a course of action; maneuver; a diplomatic or political initiative or maneuver; a petition or protest presented through diplomatic channels

2001: succedaneum

Definition of succedaneum: (noun) substitute

2002: prospicience

Definition of prospicience: (noun) the act of looking forward; foresight

2003: pococurante

Definition of pococurante: (adjective) indifferent, nonchalant

2004: autochthonous

Definition of autochthonous: (adjective) indigenous, native; formed or originating in the place where found

2005: appoggiatura

Definition of appoggiatura: (noun) an embellishing note or tone preceding an essential melodic note or tone and usually written as a note of smaller size

2006: Ursprache

Definition of Ursprache: (noun) a parent language; especially one reconstructed from the evidence of later languages

2007: serrefine

Definition of serrefine: (noun) a small forceps for clamping a blood vessel

2008: guerdon

Definition of guerdon: (noun) reward, recompense

2009: Laodicean

Definition of Laodicean: (adjective) lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics

2010: stromuhr

Medical Definition of stromuhr: (noun) a rheometer designed to measure the amount and speed of blood flow through an artery

2012: guetapens

Definition of guetapens: (noun) ambush, snare, trap

2011: cymotrichous

Definition of cymotrichous: (adjective) having the hair wavy

2013: knaidel

Definition of knaidel: (noun) matzo ball

2014: feuilleton, stichomythia

Definition of feuilleton: (noun) a part of a European newspaper or magazine devoted to material designed to entertain the general reader; something (such as an installment of a novel) printed in a feuilleton; a novel printed in installments; a work of fiction catering to popular taste; a short literary composition often having a familiar tone and reminiscent content

Definition of stichomythia: (noun) dialogue especially of altercation or dispute delivered by two actors in alternating lines (as in classical Greek drama)

2015: scherenschnitte, nunatak

Definition of scherenschnitte: (noun) the art of cutting paper into decorative designs

Definition of nunatak: (noun) a hill or mountain completely surrounded by glacial ice

2016: Feldenkrais, gesellschaft

Medical Definition of Feldenkrais: (trademark) used for a system of aided body movements intended to increase bodily awareness and ease tension

Definition of gesellschaft: (noun) a rationally developed mechanistic type of social relationship characterized by impersonally contracted associations between persons; a community or society characterized by this relationship

2017: marocain

Definition of marocain: (noun) a ribbed crepe fabric used in women's clothing

2018: koinonia

Definition of koinonia: (noun) the Christian fellowship or body of believers; intimate spiritual communion and participative sharing in a common religious commitment and spiritual community

2019: auslaut, erysipelas, bougainvillea, aiguillette, pendeloque, palama, cernuous, odylic

Definition of auslaut: (noun) final sound in a word or syllable; end position of a sound in a word or syllable

Definition of erysipelas: (noun) an acute febrile disease associated with intense edematous local inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissues caused by a hemolytic streptococcus

Definition of bougainvillea: (noun) any of a genus (Bougainvillaea) of the four-o'clock family of ornamental tropical American woody vines and shrubs with brilliant purple or red floral bracts

Definition of aiguillette: (noun) aglet; specifically, a shoulder cord worn by designated military aides

Definition of pendeloque: (noun) a diamond or other gemstone cut in the form of a pear-shaped brilliant with a table; briolette; a usually pear-shaped glass pendant used for ornamenting a lamp or chandelier

Definition of palama: (noun) the webbing on the feet of aquatic birds

Definition of cernuous: (adjective) inclining or nodding; pendulous; dropping

Definition of odylic: (adjective) of or relating to odyl