How many letters does the longest English word have?

Question

What does it mean?

Answer 1

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

45 letters

Answer 2

The longest word in any major English language dictionary is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a 45-letter word supposed to refer to a lung disease, but research has discovered that this word was originally intended as a hoax. It has since been used in a close approximation of its originally intended context, lending at least some degree of validity to its claim. See the separate article for details.

The Guinness Book of Records, in its 1992 and subsequent editions, declared the "longest real word" in the English language to be floccinaucinihilipilification at 29 letters. Defined as "the act of estimating (something) as worthless", its usage has been recorded as far back as 1741. In recent times its usage has been recorded in the proceedings of the United States Senate by Senator Robert Byrd [1], and at the White House by Bill Clinton's press secretary Mike McCurry, albeit sarcastically. It is the longest non-technical word in the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Antidisestablishmentarianism (a nineteenth century movement in England opposed to the separation of church and state) at 28 letters is one of the longest words in the English language.

The longest word which appears in William Shakespeare's works is the 27-letter honorificabilitudinitatibus, appearing in Love's Labour's Lost. This is arguably an English word (rather than Latin), but only because he used it.

The humuhumu-nukunuku-a-pua‘a, or reef triggerfish, is Hawaii's official state fish [1]. At 21 letters (22 counting the okina) it is one of the best known very long one-word names for an animal. It is often asserted that the name is longer than the fish.

Answer 3

The longest word in any major English language dictionary is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a 45-letter word supposed to refer to a lung disease, but research has discovered that this word was originally intended as a hoax. It has since been used in a close approximation of its originally intended context, lending at least some degree of validity to its claim.


The Guinness Book of Records, in its 1992 and subsequent editions, declared the "longest real word" in the English language to be floccinaucinihilipilification at 29 letters. Defined as "the act of estimating (something) as worthless",

Answer 4

The longest word in any major English language dictionary is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a 45-letter word supposed to refer to a lung disease, but research has discovered that this word was originally intended as a hoax. It has since been used in a close approximation of its originally intended context, lending at least some degree of validity to its claim. See the separate article for details.

Answer 5

PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS (45 letters; a lung disease caused by breathing in certain particles) is the longest word in any English-language dictionary. (It is also spelled -koniosis.)
On Feb. 23, 1935, the New York Herald-Tribune reported on page 3:

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis succeeded electrophotomicrographically as the longest word in the English language recognized by the National Puzzlers' League at the opening session of the organization's 103d semi-annual meeting held yesterday at the Hotel New Yorker.
The puzzlers explained that the forty-five-letter word is the name of a special form of silicosis caused by ultra-microscopic particles of siliceous volcanic dust.

The word appears in the 1936 Supplement to OED1, the OED2, the addendum to W2 (spelled -koniosis), W3 (spelled -coniosis), RHUD2, and Chambers.
The OED2 has:

Answer 6

The longest word in any major English language dictionary is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a 45-letter word supposed to refer to a lung disease, but research has discovered that this word was originally intended as a hoax. It has since been used in a close approximation of its originally intended context, lending at least some degree of validity to its claim.

Answer 7

The longest word in any major English language dictionary is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a 45-letter word supposed to refer to a lung disease, but research has discovered that this word was originally intended as a hoax. It has since been used in a close approximation of its originally intended context, lending at least some degree of validity to its claim.

Answer 8

The longest common (i.e., likely to appear in an unabridged dictionary) word: "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis"

Definition: supposedly the longest word in a dictionary, an artificial word said to mean a lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica dust

...so, this may not actually be a REAL word...but fun, eh?

Answer 9

27

Answer 10

21 by my count:

the longest English word
123 45678910 11121314151617 18192021

Answer 11

Actually this is: floccinaucinihilipilification
Pron: (flok"su-nô"su-nI"hil-u-pil"u-fi-kA'shun)—n. Rare.the estimation of something as valueless.

Usually encountered as an example of one of the longest English words. As opposed to words such as the monster below, and others, such as antidisestablishmentarianism, this word has a practical and useful meaning and is thus considered the longest "real" word in the English language. John



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- 1,913

If you were missing word a day last week here is what you missed.





FROM A WORD A DAY


Last week's theme: loooong words.

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis, noun
(NOO-muh-noh-UL-truh-MY-kruh-SKOP-ik-SIL-i-koh-VOL-kay-no-koh-NEE-o-sis, nyoo-)

A lung disease caused by inhaling fine particles of silica.

[From New Latin, from Greek pneumono- (lung) + Latin ultra- (beyond,
extremely) + Greek micro- (small) + -scopic (looking) + Latin silico
(like sand) + volcano + Greek konis (dust) + -osis (condition).]

Even though we have included the pronunciation of this word, we advise
caution lest you may have to avail the services of an otorhinolaryngologist
(a throat, nose, and ear specialist).



6-8-06

floccinaucinihilipilification (FLOK-si-NO-si-NY-HIL-i-PIL-i-fi-KAY-shuhn) noun

Estimating something as worthless.

[From Latin flocci, from floccus (tuft of wool) + nauci, from naucum
(a trifling thing) + nihili, from Latin nihil (nothing) + pili, from pilus
(a hair, trifle) + -fication (making).]

This word was coined by combining four Latin terms flocci, nauci, nihili,
pili, all meaning something of little or no value, which were listed in
the well-known "Eton Latin Grammar" of Eton College in the UK.



6-7-06

antidisestablishmentarianism, noun
(an-tee-dis-eh-stab-lish-men-TAYR-ee-uh-niz-em)

Opposition to separation of the church and state.

[From Latin anti- (against) + dis- (apart, away) + English establish, from
Latin stabilire, from stare (to stand) + -arian (one who supports) + Greek
-ism (practice or state).]

At 28 letters, it's the best-known example of a long word. Here's how you
can parse the word: one of the meanings of the word establishment is making
a church an institution of the state. In the late 19th century England, there
was a movement for the separation of the church and state: disestablishment.
Those opposed to the idea of separation were antidisestablishmentarians.
You can see where it's going. Why not a contraantidisestablishmentarianism?



6-6-06

honorificabilitudinity (ON-uh-rif-i-kay-bi-li-too-DIN-i-tee, -tyoo-) noun

Honorableness.

[From Medieval Latin honorificabilitudinitas, from Latin honor.]

Another form of this, honorificabilitudinitatibus (27 letters), is the
longest word Shakespeare ever used. It comes out of the mouth of Costard,
the clown, in Love's Labour's Lost:

"I marvel thy master hath not eaten thee for a word;
for thou art not so long by the head as
honorificabilitudinitatibus: thou art easier
swallowed than a flap-dragon."


6-5-06

Most of the longest words in English are names of chemical compounds, names
of diseases or technical words, and not very interesting to remember or talk
about. This week, we'll feature five long words that are fun to write and
recite.

internationalization (in-tuhr-NASH-uh-nuh-ly-ZAY-shun) noun

1. The act or process of making something international or placing
it under international control.

2. Making a product or process suitable for use around the globe.