What does éclaircissement mean? All about the word that made 13-year-old Faizan Zaki the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee winner

On Thursday, May 29, 2025, Faizan Zaki (speller no. 207) won the 97th Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling “éclaircissement.” The 13-year-old, who hails from Allen, Texas, readily spelled the word to become the champion in the competition’s 100th year. After hearing that he was correct, Faizan joyfully laid on the stage while confetti showered over him.

Zaki, who confidently spelled éclaircissement, didn’t ask for the definition of the French word. While the teenager was speaking, the definition popped up on the screen, which read,

“DEFINITION: the clearing up of something obscure : enlightenment.”

According to Cambridge Dictionary, éclaircissement translates to “explanation” or “clarification,” while Merriam-Webster defines it as "enlightenment." Per the latter, the French word was first used in 1667. At the same time, the earliest known use dates back to the late 1600s, c. 1673, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Per Wiktionary, éclaircissement is also borrowed in English, while it has Latin origins. The word “éclaircir,” which means “to brighten,” “to clear up,” or “to clarify,” is derived from the Latin verb “exclarare,” which consists of the prefix “ex” and the word “clarare,” per Online Etymology Dictionary.

Faizan Zaki previously fumbled another word before spelling éclaircissement correctly

Before the 13-year-old, 7th-grade student spelled éclaircissement accurately, Faizan Zaki had almost fumbled his chances of winning the championship. The contest was down to three participants, including Zaki, alongside Sarvadnya Kadam and Sarv Dharavane, per the Associated Press.

Faizan was two words away from becoming the champion, while his co-contestants had misspelled their words. When the Texan teen got the opportunity to spell “commelina,” he hurriedly said, “K-A-M-... Oh, ok, let me think,” before realizing his error. On hearing the word again, Faizan added in frustration,

“Oh, shoot!”

Eventually, Zaki was the winner as he spelled éclaircissement without any hesitation. His win also received plenty of reactions online after @PopCrave posted about it.

“Congrats to spelling a word that nobody has ever heard of,” a user said.

“Now why t* eclairs need a cissemement,” another user wrote jokingly.

“Smarter than the entirety of Stan Twitter with ease!,” someone applauded Faizan.

“I can’t even spell “definitely” without Google,” another one added.

A user asked,

“I wanna know where in life he’s gonna be using the word “éclaircissement.””

Another user congratulated Faizan Zaki,

“Congrats to Faizan what a great accomplishment after coming in second last year!!”

Faizan Zaki, who was representing the Dallas Sports Commission, was among the top contenders last year and finished as the runner-up.

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