Minis On The Edge Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 What Is The Longest Word In The English Language? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hydroped Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 I always heard it was antidisestablishmentarianism - but like the tallest sculpture I could be Waaaayyy off -David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Ohh my first thought were "patience" but then I made a asearch for it and this is what came up: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis Ha, try and say that fast ten times in a row!!!! I gave up at the third or fourth syllable... Hugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missymew Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 I still remember the word from the song: supercalifragilesticexpealidocious .... even just the sound of it is something quite attrocious. Susanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Anna, is that "medicalese" for "black lung"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMadWoman Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 I used to work as a medical transcriptionist and I can say I've never seen that word before! It is long!! There's also an explanation of what it is! It might be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (which appears in the Oxford English Dictionary), unless you want to count names of diseases (such as 'pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis', defined by the OED as "a factitious word alleged to mean 'a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust' but occurring chiefly as an instance of a very long word"), places (such as 'Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch', a village in Wales), chemical compounds (apparently there is one that is 1,913 letters long), and also a few words found only in Joyce's Finnegans Wake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Anna, is that "medicalese" for "black lung"? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes I Do think that that sort of sums it all up, I love the term "medicalese" by the way and often when one is at a hospital they will use those tongue twisting terms one goes "huh????" when hearing. I so wish they would tell it in words one can comprehend! Hugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 I like using big words even when little ones will do. My father started it with a nursery rhyme he taught me when I was little. Wanna hear it? Three rodents with inaccurate vision. Note the manner in which they flee. They all fled to the spouse of the agriculturist who severed their extremities with a kitchen utensil. Now in the course of your natural existence, have you ever noted such a phenomenon as that of three rodents with inaccurate vision? I don't remember where Dad found that version of Three Blind Mice, but it's still an ongoing joke between he and I. Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPCullen Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 often when one is at a hospital they will use those tongue twisting terms one goes "huh????" when hearing. Hugs <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Nah. I just start coming back at them with some legal terms, or ask them how many points do you get on your drivers license for passing a stopped school bus, or what do you have to allege in a complaint in a grandparent/child custody case. Usually shakes them up a bit, and they come down off their horse and talk sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMadWoman Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Deb, that is so cool! Linda, that is a great way to confuse people and bring them back to their common senses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 The visually impaired rodents reminded me of my DM's favorite, Scintillate, scintillate, globular orific, Famed would I fathom thy nature specific Loftily poised in aether capacious Fondly resembling a gem carbonaceous. Twinkle on, y'all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggi Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Holly thank god you added twinkle at the end or I would've never figured out that this was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star LOL Peggi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellandmelissa Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Sigh..... Never use a large word when a diminutive one will suffice. I don't think medical or legal type words actually COUNT as being part of the English language. I too had heard as David that it was antidisestablismentarianism and that may have been true at one time yet no longer true. When my daughter was young she told me it was smiles. Because there's a MILE between the two S's. But I really don't know. In a search I DID come across this.... Dear Yahoo!: What's the longest word in the English language? Mary Poppins London, England Dear Mary: We searched on "longest word in the English language" and found a number of sites that deliberate over this very question. The answer really depends on what qualifies as a "word." For example, chemical names can be thousands of letters long. If you wrote out the name of a DNA molecule, it would be over 1,000,000,000 letters. But are these really words? It seems even dictionaries can't agree. "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilico-volcanoconiosis" is the longest word in non-technical English dictionaries, but according to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is a fictitious word created just to claim the title of longest. One of the longest place names is 92 letters, the name of a hill in New Zealand that is typically called just "Taumata." And for those with a sense of humor, "smiles" is considered the longest word because there is a "mile" between the first and last letters. If you think you know the longest word, join one of the lengthy online discussions. Personally, we think Red Skelton said it best -- the longest word follows the announcement, "and now a word from our sponsor." Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted December 6, 2005 Author Share Posted December 6, 2005 Okay, I LOVE the replies we got so far. But the answer is (and I am NOT making this up and I can not pronounce it LOL ): Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphioparaomelitokatakec hymenokichlepikossyphophaattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosir aiobaphetraganopterygon This 182 letter word is translated from a 170 greek word which is the name of a food. It is a fricassee made of 17 sweet and sour ingredients, including brains, honey, mullet, vinegar, pickles, and the Greek liqueur Ouzo. I found this one day while looking for a question of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Does the Anglicized spelling of a Greek word count as an English word? The term "food" used in the same posting with the ingredients list you gave also seems doubtful (actually it sounds sorta disgusting, and I usually love Greek food ). That's a lot of letters! The pronunciation question reminds me of another tidbit of useless info from my distant, misspent youth and has to do with the pronunciation of the word ghoti. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMadWoman Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Anything with Oozo in it must be delicious! Oh heck, just leave out all the other ingredients and have the Oozo! Yamass!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted December 6, 2005 Author Share Posted December 6, 2005 Yes Ouzo is good!! There is a nice Greek resturant Chris and I go to in Chicago. This wine is colorless & unsweetened liqueur flavored with anise. We need that stuff right now to keep us warm here in Wisconsin LOL. Where is that Pucker Juice Teresa! It is FREEZING here outside! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicroJivvy Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 >>ghoti<< ooh ooh -- I know that one -- "fish" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Good job, Claire! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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