Xanthophyll
A xanthophyll is a yellow carotenoid pigment found with chlorophyll in green plants.
It never occurred to me until recently to look up the definition of this word, even though the town spelling bee in Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder is one of my favorite sections in the Little House books to re-read. As an eight year old first reading the book, I always just thought it was a word I would learn later. After all, Laura cannot quite spell it right and has to sit down - and she was 15(ish)!
" 'Xanthophyll,' said Mr. Clewett.
'Xanthophyll,' she said. To her surprise, she was suddenly confused. Her eyes shut. She could almost see the word on the speller's last page, but she could not think. It seemed that she stood a long time in a dreadful silence full of watching eyes.
'Xanthophyll,' she said again desperately, and she spelled quickly, 'X-a-n, zan, t-h-o, tho, zantho; p-h - ' Wildly she thought, 'Grecophil,' in a rush she ended, 'i-l-?'
Mr. Clewett shook his head. Trembling, Laura sat down." (264)
They never actually define the word, and I never actually bothered to look it up until now! I have assumed for years that it did have something to do with nature, which turns out to be true. However, I don't ever remember learning about it in school, unlike chlorophyll.
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