Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is the longest word in the English dictionary.
It cut my word off, just move the mouse over it and you will see all of it.
Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_English
2006-08-19 07:21:39
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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Antidisestablishmentarianism listen (help·info) originated in the context of the nineteenth century Church of England, where "antidisestablishmentarians" were opposed to proposals to remove the Church's status as the state church of England. The movement succeeded in England, but failed in Ireland and Wales, with the Church of Ireland being disestablished in 1871 and the Church of Wales in 1920. Antidisestablishmentarian members of the Free Church of Scotland delayed merger with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland in a dispute about the position of the Church of Scotland. The term has largely fallen into disuse, although the issue itself is still current (see Act of Settlement 1701).
The word antidisestablishmentarianism, with 28 letters, is the longest accepted word in the English language. There are other words, however, that are longer. For example: Supercalifragalisticexpialadocious is a nonsense word meaning fantastic. However, since it was taken from Mary Poppins, a fantasy novel for children, it is not as yet considered to be a real "word." The claim that "antidisestablishmentarianism" is the longest word in the English language is actually quite arguable, since antidisestablishmentarianism is used seriously in academic and ecclesiastical writing about the Church of England when the concept arises, which it does occasionally (See e.g. Hastings and "Some notes on the Church of England and Establishment", below). However, since 1992 it has lost this title to floccinaucinihilipilification in the Guinness Book of Records. (see also: Longest word in English)
If the word is taken literally, it could mean 'against the enemies of the establishment, but not necessarily aligned with the establishment'. To make an example: If you take terrorism to be against the establishment, and thus disestablishmentarian, then those who oppose terrorism (but don't necessarily support the target of terrorism) could be said to be displaying antidisestablishmentarianism.
Antidisestablishmentarianism might still be the longest word not invented for the specific purpose of being a long word, however. (the word floccinaucinihilipilification may have been invented as a joke, and is an amalgamation of four Latin words[1][2]). Presumably its creation invoked the irony of its length, and may have to do with the politics and commentary of the time period. Also, some criticise its validity on the basis that it has two prefixes ("anti-" and "dis"-) and three suffixes ("-ment", "-arian" and "-ism"), stating that it is not only possible to create a number of longer meaningful words by adding ever more prefixes, but that "antidisestablishmentarianism" is not a standalone word because of them. For example, theoretically "antiantidisestablishmentarianism" is a valid word, where it refers specifically to antidisestablishmentarians' opponents, rather than merely disestablishmentarians in general.
2006-08-19 14:23:04
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answer #2
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answered by newsgirlinos2 5
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SMILES: Configuration of the mouth prior to laughing. Grins. A sigh of happiness.
It is the longest word in the English language because there is a mile between the first and last letter................
2006-08-19 14:26:34
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answer #3
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answered by thomasrobinsonantonio 7
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The longest English word (besides chemical compound names) is floccinaucinihilipilification. It's the act of estimating something as worthless.
2006-08-19 14:21:17
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answer #4
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answered by ? 5
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Bismillahirrahmanirrahim : Rahman ve rahim olan Allah'ın adıyla. :-) If u know Azeri language maybe u can understand the meaning..(I couldn't translate it in English :-) )
2006-08-20 04:36:27
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answer #5
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answered by Irmak 7
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um i think the longest word i have seen is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis its 45 letters and it means a lung disease caused by breathing in certain particles from toxic wastes and acid bases
2006-08-19 14:30:03
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answer #6
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answered by Baby A 2
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antidisestablishmentarianism: NOUN Originally, opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England, now opposition to the belief that there should no longer be an official church in a country
2006-08-19 14:24:03
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answer #7
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answered by Josh P 3
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Smiles. There's a mile between the first letter and the last.
2006-08-19 14:23:30
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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Okay, i have to do this in parts, or it'll just dot it out.
here it is. This is all one word.
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pneumon
oultramicr
oscopicop
icsilicovolc
anoconiosis
~~~~~~~~~~~
is a lung diesese caused by a certian type of dust. I'm not kidding. Look it up.
2006-08-19 14:21:52
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answer #9
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answered by Jay Vee 3
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Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
It's the name of a town in Wales. =)
2006-08-19 14:20:37
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answer #10
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answered by Becky 3
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