Photo: #Sameer Mishra, 13, from Indiana won the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. Mishra by correctly spelling the word 'guerdon' in round 16.
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Sameer Mishra, 13, from Indiana won the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. Mishra by correctly spelling the word 'guerdon' in round 16. (YASMEEN GHOLMIEH/AFP/Getty)

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Exploring misunderstood words with the Oxford etymologist


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Midmorning's word expert returns to discuss the most commonly misunderstood words in the English language. He also helps to decipher some of the toughest words from this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee.

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  • Anatoly Liberman: Professor in the Department of German, Scandanavian and Dutch at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of Etymology for Everyone: Word Origins and How We Know Them.

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