Almost Every language allows the creation of new words by the methods of "coinage" and "construction", besides the words which have been naturally derived from the root of the language. And some times, these words can be ridiculously long!
But did you know that English has some long words too, and one of them, Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylalanyl...isoleucine, is a word made of 189,819 letters, the chemical name of the largest known protein, titin!
But thankfully, this is not a word which is in any major dictionary, and is therefore considered a purely technical word not for popular usage.
So what is the longest English word which is in any dictionary?
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
That right there, is the longest word in English as found in most major dictionaries!
How does one even pronounce that?
A spelling teachers nightmare, the word Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is a 45 letter word, used to describe a medical condition also known as silicosis.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is defined as:
an artificial long word said to mean a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine ash and sand dust.
Usage of long words
And if you think words like this were useless and can never be used in everyday life, for example the headline of a newspaper, you would be sorely mistaken! The New York Herald Tribune on February 23, 1935, did just that!
The word featured in the headline of an article published by the paper, which included the excerpt below:
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis succeeded electrophotomicrographically as the longest word in the English language recognized by the National Puzzlers' League at the opening session of the organization's 103rd 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 pneumoconiosis caused by ultra-microscopic particles of silica volcanic dust...
Does your language have a long word?
I do know of Sanskrit and German having extra long words, but I am sure every language in the world must be having a word which could be considered longer that usual!
Does your language have a long word which you would like to share? If so please put them in the comments below, so the steemians would know and also the world!
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Nice post. Funny. I often get asked this question when teaching english. I can use this. Thanks
Thanks!
Great that this could come in handy for you!
Neat! I bet only a non-sesquipedalianist would disapprove.
Lol, true. But I enjoy play with a sesquipedalian any day!
Wow!
Hmm, sounds like the shortest word in English! :))
Thanks!
but, does this longest word exist in English Dictionary ? I know floccinaucinihilipilification is the longest word according to english dictionary & Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is the longest word in the MEDICAL DICTIONARY. Because, it's the name of a disease.
However , excellent writing. Upvoted :)
Yes it does exist in the Oxford dictionary, though it too is a term to describe a medical condition. And if it is in that dictionary, then it is an official English word!
Thanks for your comment!
Do you mean I have to learn a new long word? It used to be antidisestablishmentarianism at one time I believe, or maybe that was just a commonly known long word. Nice post!
With only 28 letters "antidisestablishmentarianism " falls much shorter than the 45 letter word we have here from 1935! Time to update your vocabulary!
And thanks!
You are all wrong !!! By far the longest word in the english dictionary is ................smiles ... there is a mile between s's.
Haha never thought of that!