- #1
arba20
Which word is longest in English dictionary?
What is the longest word in the English language?
- Thread starter arba20
- Start date
Click For Summary
SUMMARY
The longest word in the English language is a topic of debate, with contenders including "Antidisestablishmentarianism" and "floccinaucinihilipilification." The former means opposition to the disestablishment of the Anglican Church, while the latter refers to the act of estimating something as worthless. Additionally, the chemical name for the largest protein contains 189,819 letters but is not considered a traditional word. The longest word in a major dictionary is often cited as "floccinaucinihilipilification," which is rarely used in everyday language.
PREREQUISITES- Understanding of linguistic terminology, such as "compound nouns" and "technical words."
- Familiarity with the concept of word formation and etymology.
- Knowledge of historical context regarding the Anglican Church and its disestablishment.
- Awareness of the distinction between chemical names and traditional words.
- Research the etymology and usage of "Antidisestablishmentarianism."
- Explore the meaning and context of "floccinaucinihilipilification."
- Investigate the longest words in other languages and their definitions.
- Examine the role of compound words in English and their implications in linguistics.
Language enthusiasts, linguists, educators, and anyone interested in the complexities of English vocabulary and word formation.
- #2
Jimmy Snyder
- 1,122
- 21
megaparsec.
- #3
HallsofIvy
Science Advisor
Homework Helper
- 42,895
- 983
Look at this wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_English
As they say, it is impossible to give an answer because of ambiguities as to what constitutes a "word in the English language" as well as exactly how you count letters in words that may have alternative spellings. The article gives a word that has 189,819 letters but it is the chemical name of the largest protein and it formed by simply combining the names of all the atoms in it- is it really a separate word? Another is a word with 45 letters, said to be the "longest word in a major dictionary" but with the caution that it is another technical word formed by combining other words- and, in fact, was coined specifically to be the longest word in the English language!
The longes "non-coined and non-technical word" is our old friend "Antidisestablishmentarianism" and the only one I can define- it means the opposition to the "disestablishment" of the Anglican church.
The longest word to appear in Shakespear is "Honorificabilitudinitatibus" and is the longest word that alternates consonants and vowels!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_English
As they say, it is impossible to give an answer because of ambiguities as to what constitutes a "word in the English language" as well as exactly how you count letters in words that may have alternative spellings. The article gives a word that has 189,819 letters but it is the chemical name of the largest protein and it formed by simply combining the names of all the atoms in it- is it really a separate word? Another is a word with 45 letters, said to be the "longest word in a major dictionary" but with the caution that it is another technical word formed by combining other words- and, in fact, was coined specifically to be the longest word in the English language!
The longes "non-coined and non-technical word" is our old friend "Antidisestablishmentarianism" and the only one I can define- it means the opposition to the "disestablishment" of the Anglican church.
The longest word to appear in Shakespear is "Honorificabilitudinitatibus" and is the longest word that alternates consonants and vowels!
- #4
Hyperspace2
- 84
- 1
Jimmy Snyder said:
- #5
I like Serena
Science Advisor
Homework Helper
MHB
- 16,335
- 258
Hyperspace2 said:Jimmy Snyder said:
Hmm, hyperspace sounds longer!
- #6
arildno
Science Advisor
Homework Helper
Gold Member
Dearly Missed
- 10,135
- 138
In Norway, the most common and well-known word that is arguably the longest in that category is:
Høyesterettsjustitiarius
It means "Chief Justice of the Supreme Court"
Høyesterettsjustitiarius
It means "Chief Justice of the Supreme Court"
- #7
rhody
Gold Member
- 679
- 3
Jimmy Snyder said:
The great one does it again... zing... you are da man...
Rhody...
- #8
Klockan3
- 611
- 0
Actually it is floccinaucinihilipilification.HallsofIvy said:
Edit: Tried to look that one up and couldn't find anything, I guess that I need to have gotten some things mixed up by a strange source..
Last edited:
- #9
arba20
Thanks for your posting.
- #10
Borek
Mentor
- 29,170
- 4,598
HallsofIvy said:
Amino acids, not atoms.
- #11
Ken Natton
- 187
- 0
Klockan3 said:
When I was young, the word always held to be the longest was, as HallsofIvy said, antidisestablishmentarianism, but there were then endless disputes about whether or not it should be hyphonated. Latterly the word you mention, floccinaucinihilipilification appeared on the scene. There are a couple of things you should know about it - no-one ever uses it, people only ever encounter it as 'the longest word in the Oxford dictionary' and the word itself is very tongue-in-cheek. Flocci, nauci, nihili and pili are all essentially prefixes with very similar meanings and connotations. The overall word is held to mean 'the art of estimating the worthless' which is, of course, completely pointless. As already pointed out, the real problem is to identify the longest word that is not just a compound noun, certainly not a chemical, biological or a pharamcuetical name, and is intended for general and spontaneous use. Not really any less pointless a question but hey, we have to get through the day somehow...
- #12
Haldhad
- 8
- 0
The longest word in the English language is time.
Ok physics jokes aside, as said it depends what you mean by word, a chemical term is a word but is it a word as you understand the term.
Antidisestablishmentarianism was once listed as the longest word although falsely. It means against the deconstruction of the Arian church whatever the hell Arian means, although usually it is linked to protestantism in the UK. Now it's something different I believe floccinaucinihilipilification not really close but it depends how you define a word? language evolves.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, gets my vote.
Ok physics jokes aside, as said it depends what you mean by word, a chemical term is a word but is it a word as you understand the term.
Antidisestablishmentarianism was once listed as the longest word although falsely. It means against the deconstruction of the Arian church whatever the hell Arian means, although usually it is linked to protestantism in the UK. Now it's something different I believe floccinaucinihilipilification not really close but it depends how you define a word? language evolves.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, gets my vote.
Last edited: