2006-06-12 08:27:11 · 8 answers · asked by dancingqueen6 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia --fear of long words (gotta love the irony...)
Etymology
Fanciful extension of sesqui(p)pedalophobia with monstrum "monster" and a truncated form of hippopotamus, intended to exaggerate the length of the word itself and the idea of the size of the words being feared. The word consists of 36 letters.
Noun
hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (uncountable)
Usage notes
It is unlikely that this 15-syllable contrivance is ever used purely for its meaning. The term sesquipedalophobia is recognized in formal writing, while the four-syllable phrase "fear of long words" is certainly worth considering.
In the book Useless Knowledge, this enormous word was misinterpreted by the authors as two words, causing them to list the fear of long words as the following:
hippopotomonstroses
quippedaliophobia
Translations
German: Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobie
Spanish: hipopotomonstrosesquipedaliofobia
2006-06-12 09:09:45 · answer #1 · answered by LP-UY 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because its a long word
2006-06-12 08:40:02 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's a conspiracy! just like the Identified Flying Objects!
2006-06-12 09:03:15 · answer #3 · answered by jivesucka 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yeh and what sorta mean person put the letter S in lisp??
XX
2006-06-12 09:00:57 · answer #4 · answered by ..::aLi$hA::.. 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
some person made it up and did it on purpose
2006-06-12 08:46:28 · answer #5 · answered by goaliekd755 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it would have terrified me to type that word.
2006-06-17 05:10:12 · answer #6 · answered by gruffle 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
AAAHHHH! scary word!
2006-06-12 08:31:34 · answer #7 · answered by kiss my wookie! 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i dont know.. kind of ironic isn't it?
2006-06-12 08:29:24 · answer #8 · answered by taco 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋