Stevenson eighth-grader Andrew Zhou was eliminated in the fourth round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee today in Washington, D.C. Advertiser library photo   Zhou advanced as far as he did by passing a written test and correctly spelling "maintenance" and "trellised" in earlier oral rounds. HEATHER WINES | Gannett News Service

The 14-year-old eighth-grader at Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School misspelled "quatenus" in the fourth round today, which eliminated him from the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The word means "in the capacity of," but it's fairly obscure. Andrew spelled it "q-u-a-t-a-n-u-s," missing the correct spelling by one letter.

He had advanced as far as he did by passing a written test and correctly spelling "maintenance" and "trellised" in earlier oral rounds.

The Honolulu Advertiser sponsored Andrew in the bee. He was Hawai'i's only speller.

On the Web: