For the long time, lexicographers have been debating about the legitimacy of certain words as possible entrants to the English dictionary. For me, the longer the word and the more the number of syllables in it, the more interesting it becomes. Find out some of the most exquisitely coined words in the English language from this article.
Longest word
Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl […] isoleucine
Here’s the deal: the world’s longest English word has exactly 189,819 letters in it and it takes 3 hours and 33 minutes to pronounce it completely!
Wondering what commands such an enormous (literally) honor? Well, it is the chemical name of the world’s largest known protein called titin or connectin. It is made up of 244 individually folded protein domains which in turn are connected by unstructured peptide sequences (largest known polypeptide containing 34,350 amino acids in the human body). Fascinating as the name of this wonder is, there exists some debate as to whether this technical term can actually be considered a word. But even then, mesmerizing it is, isn’t it? And guess what? Here in this article, you will actually get to see this ginormous word if you read on.
But even otherwise, the English language is a huge storehouse of long words that I find rather satisfying to pronounce. They are grand tongue twisters that make perfect sense. Two of my favorite words for the longest time have been inconsequential and quintessentially. I am psychologically satiated to the hilt every time I utter them and utter them a lot I do. But there are other words that are very rarely used and even more rarely heard of. Let’s check some of them out below. If you love the language and lap up trivia like there’s no tomorrow, this is a train ride you should definitely not miss.
A
1. Ablutophobia: Fear of washing or having a bath
2. Absorbefacient: Inducing or boosting absorption
3. Adiathermancy: Impervious to radiant heat or infrared radiation or unaffected by heat waves
4. Agglutination: The construction of words from component morphemes that retain their form and meaning in spite of the blending
5. Arachibutyrophobia: One having fear about peanut butter sticking to the mouth roof
6. Aurantiaceous: Appertaining to oranges or orange trees
7. Automatonophobia: One having fear about dummies, animatronic creatures, statues of wax
8. Autothaumaturgist: A person who exudes an air of mystery around himself consciously; someone pretending to be an enigma
9. Autotonsorialist: A person who cuts his own hair
10. Automysophobia: Fear of getting dirty
B
1. Ballistocardiograph: An instrument which is used to detect body movements caused by heartbeats
2. Bathythermograph: An instrument that is used for recording water temperature as compared to depth
3. Batrachomyomachy: A military engagement between frogs and mice
4. Batrachophagous: A person who eats frogs
5. Bicrescentic: Having the structure of a double crescent
6. Blandiloquence: A flattery or complimentary speech
7. Brachydactylous: Having abnormally short and blunt fingers and toes
8. Brobdingnagian: Colossal
9. Bouleversement: An overturning; ruination
10. Boustrophedon: An ancient method of writing in which one line is written from left to right and the next from right to left and so on.
C
1. Cacodemomania: Pathological belief of one being inhabited by an evil spirit
2. Caesaropapism: Secular ruler having control of the church
3. Catapedamania: Obsession with jumping from high places
4. Cephalonomancy: A kind of divination formerly practiced to detect guilt in a convict by boiling the skull of an ass and checking for any cracking of the skull or movement of the lower jaw
5. Ceruminiferous: Carrying or yielding earwax
6. Chaetophorous: Setigerous or bristle-bearing
7. Cheiloproclitic: One who is attracted to lips
8. Cholangiocholecystocholedochectomy: Process of surgically removing the hepatic duct and gallbladder
9. Chronosynchronicity: Presenting a person’s life in all the stages through a single piece of art
10. Cycloganoidei: Ganoid fish with cycloid scales
D
1. Dactylopterous: A state where the inferior rays of the pectoral fins are entirely or partially detached from the body
2. Defecaloesiophobia: Fear of painful defecation
3. Dendrochronology: Study of tree rings
4. Deorsumversion: Turning downwards
5. Dermatoglyphics: Study of fingerprints and skin patterns
6. Dermatopathophobia: Fear of dermal ailments
7. Didaskaleinophobia: Fear of going to school
8. Dishabiliophobia: Fear of undressing in front of another person
9. Dolichocephalic: Long-headed
10. Dysmorphophobia: Having the fear of physical deformities
E
1. Ecclesiasticus: An Apocryphal book
2. Edriophthalmous: Concerning the Edriophthalma
3. Electroencephalograph: An instrument for measuring the brain’s electrical impulses
4. Electrodynamometer: An instrument for measuring electric current
5. Eleutherophobia: Fear of freedom
6. Epiphenomenalism: Doctrine that mental processes are epiphenomena of brain activity
7. Ephemeromorph: Form of life that is neither animal nor plant
8. Epistaxiophobia: Fear of epistaxises or bleeding noses
9. Ethnomethodology: The study of sociological codes and conventions that underlie everyday social communication and interactions
10. Extemporaneousness: Lack of foresight
F
1. Febrifacient: That which renders feverish
2. Ferriprussiate: A ferricyanate; a ferricyanide
3. Flagelliferous: Bearing a whip or flagellum
4. Flibbertigibbet: Gossipy person, usually referring to a young woman
5. Fibriophobia: Having fear of fever
6. Fibrochondrosteal: Partly fibrous, partly cartilaginous, and partly bony or osseous
7. Fissigemmation: A process of reproduction that intercedes fission and gemmation
8. Forisfamiliation: The act of liberating oneself from parental authority
9. Frankalmoigne: Tenure by free alms
10. Frumentaceous: Resembling wheat or other grain
G
1. Galactodensimeter: Instrument used to measure the density of milk
2. Gastroduodenitis: Swelling of the stomach and duodenum
3. Gastrohysterotomy: Cæsarean section
4. Generalissimo: The Chief Commander of an army
5. Gephydrophobia: Fear of crossing bridges
6. Germanophilia: Love or fondness for Germany or for the Germans
7. Gluconeogenesis: Production of glucose from non-carbohydrates
8. Graminivorous: Feeding on grass or cereals
9. Grammaticaster: A piddling grammarian
10. Gynotikolobomassophile: One nibbling a woman’s earlobes
H
1. Haematogenesis: Production of blood
2. Haematodynamometer: An instrument to measure arterial or venous blood pressure
3. Haussmannize: To rebuild
4. Hellenologophobia: Fear of Greek terms or complex scientific nomenclature
5. Helioseismology: Study of wave oscillations in the sun
6. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia: Fear of the number six hundred sixty-six
7. Honorificabilitudinitatibus: One bearing honorableness
8. Honorificabilitudinity: Honorableness
9. Hydrometeorology: Study of atmospheric moisture
10. Hypercatalectic: Having an extra syllable at the end of a verse
I
1. Iatromathematics: Archaic practice of medicine in conjunction with astrology
2. Ichthyophagous: Fish-eating
3. Ichthyophthalmite: A hydrous silicate of calcium and potassium relating to zeolites
4. Immarcescible: Not perishable
5. Immunopathology: Study of immunity to disease
6. Incircumscriptible: Incapable of being restricted
7. Incomprehensibleness: Impossible to know or fathom
8. Interramification: Intertwining of branches
9. Interstratification: Alternative layering of two or more types of clay minerals
10. Ithyphallophobia: Fear of aroused male genitalia
J
1. Jaculiferous: Bearing arrow-like thorns
2. Japanophilia: Love or admiration for Japan or the Japanese
3. Japanophobia: Fear of Japanese
4. Johannisberger: A fine white wine produced on the estate of Schloss Johannisberg, on the river Rhine
5. Jouissance: Merriment
6. Judeophobia: Fear of Jewish people
7. Juglandaceous: Liking or pertaining to walnuts
8. Jungermanniaceae: A genus of hepatic mosses
9. Jurisprudential: Pertaining to the science of juridical law
10. Juxtaposition: The act of positioning two or more things adjacent to each other
K
1. Kakorrhaphiophobia: Fear of failure
2. Katagelophobia: Fear of ridicule
3. Katathermometer: Instrument used to measure the cooling power of air
4. Katsaridaphobia: Fear of cockroaches
5. Kephalonomancy: Divination using a baked head of an ass or a goat
6. Keraunophobia (or Ceraunophobia): Fear of lightning and thunder
7. Kinetheodolite: Type of theodolite used to track missiles and satellites
8. Knickerbockers: Loose breeches ending above the knee
9. Knickknackatory: A collection of baubles and trifles
10. Kosmikophobia: Fear of cosmic phenomenon
L
1. Lamellibranchiata: Class of gastropods with bivalve shells
2. Laryngotracheotomy: Surgery involving cutting into the larynx and the upper part of the trachea
3. Latitudinarianism: Doctrine of broad liberality in religious belief or conduct
4. Lautenclavicymbel: Lute harpsichord with gut strings instead of metal
5. Lautverschiebung: The regular alterations undergone by the primitive Indo-European stops or mute consonants in the Teutonic languages since third century BC
6. Lepidopterology: Study about butterflies and moths
7. Leucocytogenesis: Formation of leukocytes
8. Lexicographical: Pertaining to the art of making a dictionary or lexicon
9. Libanophorous: Producing incense
10. Logizomechanophobia: Fear of computers
M
1. Machiavellianism: The doctrines of Niccolò Machiavelli as written in his book Il Principe (“The Prince”) wherein political expediency is exalted above morality and the use of cunning and deceit in statecraft to maintain authority or to effectuate policy is commended
2. Macrocephalous: Having a large head
3. Margaritomancy: Divination using pearls
4. Maschalephidrosis: Excessive sweating of the armpits
5. Mechanotherapist: A practitioner who medically treats by employing mechanical practices, such as massaging
6. Medomalacuphobia: Fear of losing an erection
7. Metathesiophobia: Fear of changes
8. Microminiaturization: Construction of something on a scale which is smaller than miniature
9. Micropalaeontology: Study of microscopic fossils
10. Monopathophobia: Fear of definite disease
N
1. Necessitarianism: Philosophical theory according to which actions are always consequent to antecedent causes
2. Nemathelminthes: Roundworms
3. Neopharmaphobia: Fear of new drugs
4. Nephelodometer: An instrument for estimating the distances or speed of clouds
5. Neurophysiological: Pertaining to the branch of physiology that deals with the functions of the nervous system
6. Nigroglobulate: The act of excluding someone by a negative vote or veto
7. Noctambulation: Sleepwalking
8. Nucamentaceous: Resembling a nut either structurally or their property of indehiscence; bearing one-seeded nut-like fruits
9. Nucleomituphobia: Fear of nuclear weapons
10. Nyctohylophobia: Fear of dark wooded areas at night
O
1. Obeliscolychny: Lighthouse
2. Obsequiousness: Abject submissiveness
3. Omphalopsychite: One who meditates by stares fixedly at his navel
4. Oneirogmophobia: Fear of wet dreams
5. Ophthalmophobia: Fear of being stared at
6. Ophthalmoscope: Instrument for viewing the interior of the eye
7. Opisthobranchiata: Marine gastropod mollusks with no operculum and gills present posterior to the heart
8. Orphanotrophism: Care and support of orphans
9. Ostraconophobia: Fear of shellfish
10. Otorhinolaryngology: It is a study of ear, nose, and throat
P
1. Palaeoanthropology: The study of early humans
2. Paleophytologist: One versed in the recovery and identification of plant fossils from geological contexts
3. Paraskavedekatriaphobia: Fear of Friday the 13th
4. Penecontemporaneous: Of geological processes occurring immediately after deposition
5. Philoprogenitiveness: The love of offspring
6. Pleuroperipneumony: Inflammation of the pleura and lungs
7. Pneumatophilosophy: Philosophy of spirits or the spirit world
8. Podobromhidrosis: Smelly feet
9. Pseudoantidisestablishmentarianism: Falsely supporting the idea of disestablishment
10. Pteromerhanophobia: Fear of flying
Q
1. Quadragesimarian: One who observes Lent
2. Quadrigeminous: Four-fold
3. Quadrigenarious: Four hundred
4. Quasquicentennial: One hundred twenty-fifth anniversary
5. Quatrefeuille: An ornamental foliation having four foils
6. Quindecemvirate: The body or office of the fifteen sacerdotal college men bestowed with the primary duty of protecting the Sibylline books
7. Quinquagenarian: Person between the ages of 50 and 59
8. Quinquedentated: Five-toothed
9. Quoddamodotative: Existing in a certain manner
10. Quomodocunquize: Making money in any possible way
R
1. Radappertization: Treatment of food with ionizing radiation to kill bacteria
2. Radiometeorograph: An instrument for measuring atmospheric conditions at high altitude
3. Rambunctiousness: The state of being boisterous and disorderly
4. Ranidaphobia: Fear of frogs
5. Representationalism: Doctrine that ideas rather than external objects are basis of knowledge
6. Retrovaccination: The inoculation of a cow with human vaccination in which smallpox virus from human vesicles is used as seed virus in producing smallpox vaccine in cattle
7. Rhabdophobia: Fear of being severely punished or beaten by a rod, or of being severely criticized
8. Rhinotillexomania: Compulsive nose picking
9. Rodomontadist: A person who boasts
10. Roentgenometrics: A chiropractic technique involving the study of X-rays by biomechanical analysis and measurement
S
1. Sacramentarianism: Belief that sacraments have unusual properties
2. Scrophulariaceous: Pertaining to the figwort family of plants (Scrophulariaceae)
3. Secundogeniture: The right of inheritance belonging to the second-oldest child
4. Sesquicentennially: Every 150 years
5. Siderodromophobia: Fear of trains, railroads or train travel
6. Spasmenagaliaphobia: Fear of shattered glass
7. Spermatophobia: The fear of germs
8. Spectroheliokinematograph: Camera for taking pictures of the sun
9. Sphygmomanometer: An instrument for measuring arterial blood pressure
10. Steganophthalmata: A division of jellyfishes, including most of the large disklike species
T
1. Trinitrophenylmethylnitramine: A type of explosive
2. Tetrakishexahedron: A solid in the isometric system, bounded by 24 congruent isosceles-triangular faces, four corresponding to each face of the cube
3. Thanatognomonic: Indicating death
4. Theologicophobia: Fear of theology
5. Theophilanthropism: Having love for divinity as well as mankind
6. Thermoluminescence: A form of luminescence that is exhibited by certain crystalline materials that may have absorbed energy previously
7. Transmogrification: Transformation to a different form or shape, especially strange or grotesque
8. Trichopathophobia: Fear of hair
9. Triskaidekaphobia: Phobia of the number 13
10. Triboluminescence: Frictional emission of light
U
1. Ubiquitarianism: Belief in the omnipresence of God
2. Ultramicroscope: Instrument for viewing objects that are difficult to see by the naked eye
3. Ultimogeniture: The right of inheritance belonging to the last son
4. Umbraculiform: Umbrella-shaped
5. Uncircumstandtial: Not circumstantial; trivial
6. Uncompartmentalized: Not separated into different categories or compartments
7. Unconsentaneous: Disagreement
8. Uniformitarianism: The theory or assumption that the same natural laws and processes that operate in the universe now, have operated since its inception and apply everywhere in the universe and that all geological phenomena may be explained as the result of these existing forces
9. Unsoutcheoned: Destitute of an escutcheon
10. Utilitarianism: Adopting a code of conduct that determines ethical values
V
1. Valetudinarianism: The condition or state of mind of a sickly or weak person who is incessantly worried about personal health
2. Vasoconstriction: Narrowing of the blood vessels owing to the contraction of their muscular walls
3. Venturesomeness: Daring and adventurous
4. Venustraphobia: Being scared of beautiful women
5. Verminophobia: Being afraid of germs
6. Vernacularization: The act, process, or state of picking elements from a foreign language and modifying and accepting it as a part of a native dialect of a specific population
7. Virginitiphobia: Fear of rape
8. Vitricophobic: One who fears his step-father
9. Volumenometer: Instrument that determines volume of a solid
10. Voicespondence: Correspondence by means of formerly recorded conversations
W
1. Walloonphobia: Fear of Walloons (French-speaking Belgian community)
2. Wawaskeesh: An American elk
3. welterweight: A combat sports weight class division
4. Weatherometer: Instrument for measuring weather-resisting properties of paint
5. Weatherstripping: Material to seal the openings such as doors, trunks, windows to exclude the cold, wind, and rain
6. Weltanschauungen: One’s individual or a group’s outlook towards life
7. Whereinsoever: In whatever matter, respect, place, or action
8. Whippersnappers: People considered insignificant and pretentious
9. Whippoorwill: Night-jar from America
10. Whithersoever: Wherever
X
1. Xanthocyanopsy: Kind of color-blindness in which one can see only blue and yellow colors
2. Xanthomelanous: Pertaining to races with black hair and yellow or olive complexion
3. Xanthophobia: Fearful towards yellow color
4. Xanthospermous: Containing yellow seeds
5. Xenodocheionology: Liking for hotels and inns
6. Xenoglossophobia: Fear of foreign languages
7. Xerophthalmia: Dry eye syndrome
8. Xeroradiography: Kind of X-ray wherein the picture is taken on a paper and not on a film
9. Xiphophyllous: Sword-shaped leaved
10. Xylopyrographist: A poker painter
Y
1. Yachtsmanship: Adeptness in sailing a yacht
2. Yarborough: Hand of cards where no card is above nine
3. Yarnwindle: Tool used for winding the yarn
4. Yellowhammer: A passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae
5. Yellowshanks: American shorebirds of the sandpiper family
6. Yellowthroats: A New World warblers in the genus Geothlypis
7. Yeomanette: Old term for a woman serving in the American naval reserve during World War II
8. Yezdegerdian: Pertaining to Yezdegerd, the last Sassanian monarch of Persia, overthrown by the Muslims
9. Yogibogeybox: Things used by a spiritualist
10. Yttriferous: One that contains yttrium
Z
1. Zemmiphobia: Being afraid of the great mole rat
2. Zalambdodont: Having molar teeth with V-shaped ridges
3. Zarathustrianism: Zoroastrianism
4. Zeusophobia: Being scared of divine beings
5. Zigzaggery: Contortion
6. Zoanthodeme: Collective zooids of compound anthozoa
7. Zooarchaeology: Studying the remnants of animals on archaeological sites
8. Zoosporangium: A spore
9. Zeugmatography: A term previously proposed for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
10. Zeugobranchiata: A division of marine mollusks with gills on both sides of the body and paired renal organs
Now, here are some other fun words that are bound to wriggle those gray cells optimally. Most of them aren’t a part of any lexicon yet, but that doesn’t make them any less mesmerizing.
Here are the top 5 names of places on the globe with the longest names.
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (85 letters) – A hill in New Zealand, the name of which stands for: “The summit of the hill, where Tamatea, who is known as the land eater, slid down, climbed up and swallowed mountains, played on his nose flute to his loved one”.
Gorsafawddachaidraigodanheddogleddolonpenrhynareurdraethceredigion (66 letters) – A town in Wales, the name of which means: “The Mawddach station and its dragon teeth at the Northern Penrhyn Road on the golden beach of Cardigan bay”.
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (58 letters) – A northern Welsh town the name of which means: “The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio’s of the red cave”.
Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg (41 letters) – A lake in Massachusetts.
Nunathloogagamiutbingoi (23 letters) – The name of certain Alaskan dunes.
And here are two mind-boggling scientific terms for your pleasure.
Methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolylphenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanylglycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylglutaminylasparaginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylglycylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionylleucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylvalylphenylalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanyltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanylarginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanylprolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylaspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylseryltyrosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycylvalylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylglycylalanylalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalyllysylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylprolylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenylalanylvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylarginylserine – At 1,913 characters, this is the full name of tryptophan synthetase – a protein which consists of 267 amino acids.
Acetylseryltyrosylserylisoleucylthreonylserylprolylserylglutaminylphenylalanylvalylphenylalanylleucylserylserylvalyltryptophylalanylaspartylprolylisoleucylglutamylleucylleucylasparaginylvalylcysteinylthreonylserylserylleucylglycylasparaginylglutaminylphenylalanylglutaminylthreonylglutaminylglutaminylalanylarginylthreonylthreonylglutaminylvalylglutaminylglutaminylphenylalanylserylglutaminylvalyltryptophyllysylprolylphenylalanylprolylglutaminylserylthreonylvalylarginylphenylalanylprolylglycylaspartylvalyltyrosyllysylvalyltyrosylarginyltyrosylasparaginylalanylvalylleucylaspartylprolylleucylisoleucylthreonylalanylleucylleucylglycylthreonylphenylalanylaspartylthreonylarginylasparaginylarginylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylvalylglutamylasparaginylglutaminylglutaminylserylprolylthreonylthreonylalanylglutamylthreonylleucylaspartylalanylthreonylarginylarginylvalylaspartylaspartylalanylthreonylvalylalanylisoleucylarginylserylalanylasparaginylisoleucylasparaginylleucylvalylasparaginylglutamylleucylvalylarginylglycylthreonylglycylleucyltyrosylasparaginylglutaminylasparaginylthreonylphenylalanylglutamylserylmethionylserylglycylleucylvalyltryptophylthreonylserylalanylprolylalanylserine – With 1,185 letters, this is the chemical name of the Coat Protein, Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV), Dahlemense Strain and was first published in American Chemical Society’s “Chemical Abstracts Service”.
And now for the monarch of all words – 189,819 characters long!
Chemical Name of Titin
Whew!! Wasn’t that some real heavy stuff! Well that’s it for now. Guess you too are short of breath after reading the long list. Hope you had fun reading them though!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The identity of the longest word in English depends on the definition of a word and of length.
Words may be derived naturally from the language’s roots or formed by coinage and construction. Additionally, comparisons are complicated because place names may be considered words, technical terms may be arbitrarily long, and the addition of suffixes and prefixes may extend the length of words to create grammatically correct but unused or novel words.
The length of a word may also be understood in multiple ways. Most commonly, length is based on orthography (conventional spelling rules) and counting the number of written letters. Alternate, but less common, approaches include phonology (the spoken language) and the number of phonemes (sounds).
Word | Letters | Meaning | Claim | Dispute |
---|---|---|---|---|
methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylalanyl…isoleucine | 189,819 | The chemical composition of titin, the largest known protein | Longest known word overall by magnitudes. Attempts to say the entire word have taken two[1] to three and a half hours.[2] | Technical; not in dictionary; whether this should actually be considered a word is disputed |
methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamyl…serine | 1,909 | The chemical name of E. coli TrpA (P0A877) | Longest published word[3] | Technical |
lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsano…pterygon | 183 | A fictional dish of food | Longest word coined by a major author,[4] the longest word ever to appear in literature[5] | Contrived nonce word; not in dictionary; Ancient Greek transliteration |
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis | 45 | The disease silicosis | Longest word in a major dictionary[6] | Contrived coinage to make it the longest word; technical, but only mentioned and never actually used in communication |
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious | 34 | Unclear in source work, has been cited as a nonsense word | Made popular in the Mary Poppins film and musical[7] | Contrived coinage |
pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism | 30 | A hereditary medical disorder | Longest non-contrived word in a major dictionary[8] | Technical |
antidisestablishmentarianism | 28 | The political position of opposing disestablishment | Longest non-contrived and nontechnical word[9] | Not all dictionaries accept it due to lack of usage.[10] |
honorificabilitudinitatibus | 27 | The state of being able to achieve honors | Longest word in Shakespeare’s works; longest word in the English language featuring alternating consonants and vowels[11] | Latin |
Major dictionaries
The longest word in any of the major English language dictionaries is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters), a word that refers to a lung disease contracted from the inhalation of very fine silica particles,[12] specifically from a volcano; medically, it is the same as silicosis. The word was deliberately coined to be the longest word in English, and has since been used[citation needed] in a close approximation of its originally intended meaning, lending at least some degree of validity to its claim.[6]
The Oxford English Dictionary contains pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (30 letters).
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary does not contain antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters), as the editors found no widespread, sustained usage of the word in its original meaning. The longest word in that dictionary is electroencephalographically (27 letters).[13]
The longest non-technical word in major dictionaries is floccinaucinihilipilification at 29 letters. Consisting of a series of Latin words meaning «nothing» and defined as «the act of estimating something as worthless»; its usage has been recorded as far back as 1741.[14][15][16]
Ross Eckler has noted that most of the longest English words are not likely to occur in general text, meaning non-technical present-day text seen by casual readers, in which the author did not specifically intend to use an unusually long word. According to Eckler, the longest words likely to be encountered in general text are deinstitutionalization and counterrevolutionaries, with 22 letters each.[17]
A computer study of over a million samples of normal English prose found that the longest word one is likely to encounter on an everyday basis is uncharacteristically, at 20 letters.[18]
The word internationalization is abbreviated «i18n», the embedded number representing the number of letters between the first and the last.[19][20][21]
Creations of long words
Coinages
In his play Assemblywomen (Ecclesiazousae), the ancient Greek comedic playwright Aristophanes created a word of 171 letters (183 in the transliteration below), which describes a dish by stringing together its ingredients:
Henry Carey’s farce Chrononhotonthologos (1743) holds the opening line: «Aldiborontiphoscophornio! Where left you Chrononhotonthologos?»
Thomas Love Peacock put these creations into the mouth of the phrenologist Mr. Cranium in his 1816 book Headlong Hall: osteosarchaematosplanchnochondroneuromuelous (44 characters) and osseocarnisanguineoviscericartilaginonervomedullary (51 characters).
James Joyce made up nine 100-letter words plus one 101-letter word in his novel Finnegans Wake, the most famous of which is Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk. Appearing on the first page, it allegedly represents the symbolic thunderclap associated with the fall of Adam and Eve. As it appears nowhere else except in reference to this passage, it is generally not accepted as a real word. Sylvia Plath made mention of it in her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar, when the protagonist was reading Finnegans Wake.
«Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious», the 34-letter title of a song from the movie Mary Poppins, does appear in several dictionaries, but only as a proper noun defined in reference to the song title. The attributed meaning is «a word that you say when you don’t know what to say.» The idea and invention of the word is credited to songwriters Robert and Richard Sherman.
Agglutinative constructions
The English language permits the legitimate extension of existing words to serve new purposes by the addition of prefixes and suffixes. This is sometimes referred to as agglutinative construction. This process can create arbitrarily long words: for example, the prefixes pseudo (false, spurious) and anti (against, opposed to) can be added as many times as desired. More familiarly, the addition of numerous «great»s to a relative, such as «great-great-great-great-grandparent», can produce words of arbitrary length. In musical notation, an 8192nd note may be called a semihemidemisemihemidemisemihemidemisemiquaver.
Antidisestablishmentarianism is the longest common example of a word formed by agglutinative construction.
Technical terms
A number of scientific naming schemes can be used to generate arbitrarily long words.
The IUPAC nomenclature for organic chemical compounds is open-ended, giving rise to the 189,819-letter chemical name Methionylthreonylthreonyl…isoleucine for the protein also known as titin, which is involved in striated muscle formation. In nature, DNA molecules can be much bigger than protein molecules and therefore potentially be referred to with much longer chemical names. For example, the wheat chromosome 3B contains almost 1 billion base pairs,[22] so the sequence of one of its strands, if written out in full like Adenilyladenilylguanilylcystidylthymidyl…, would be about 8 billion letters long. The longest published word, Acetylseryltyrosylseryliso…serine, referring to the coat protein of a certain strain of tobacco mosaic virus (P03575), is 1,185 letters long, and appeared in the American Chemical Society’s Chemical Abstracts Service in 1964 and 1966.[23] In 1965, the Chemical Abstracts Service overhauled its naming system and started discouraging excessively long names. In 2011, a dictionary broke this record with a 1909-letter word describing the trpA protein (P0A877).[3]
John Horton Conway and Landon Curt Noll developed an open-ended system for naming powers of 10, in which one sexmilliaquingentsexagintillion, coming from the Latin name for 6560, is the name for 103(6560+1) = 1019683. Under the long number scale, it would be 106(6560) = 1039360.
Gammaracanthuskytodermogammarus loricatobaicalensis is sometimes cited as the longest binomial name—it is a kind of amphipod. However, this name, proposed by B. Dybowski, was invalidated by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature in 1929 after being petitioned by Mary J. Rathbun to take up the case.[24]
Myxococcus llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochensis is the longest accepted binomial name for an organism. It is a bacterium found in soil collected at Llanfairpwllgwyngyll (discussed below). Parastratiosphecomyia stratiosphecomyioides is the longest accepted binomial name for any animal, or any organism visible with the naked eye. It is a species of soldier fly.[25] The genus name Parapropalaehoplophorus (a fossil glyptodont, an extinct family of mammals related to armadillos) is two letters longer, but does not contain a similarly long species name.
Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic, at 52 letters, describing the spa waters at Bath, England, is attributed to Dr. Edward Strother (1675–1737).[26] The word is composed of the following elements:
- Aequeo: equal (Latin, aequo[27])
- Salino: containing salt (Latin, salinus)
- Calcalino: calcium (Latin, calx)
- Ceraceo: waxy (Latin, cera)
- Aluminoso: alumina (Latin)
- Cupreo: from «copper»
- Vitriolic: resembling vitriol
Notable long words
Place names
The longest officially recognized place name in an English-speaking country is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (85 letters), which is a hill in New Zealand. The name is in the Māori language. A widely recognized version of the name is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (85 letters), which appears on the signpost at the location (see the photo on this page). In Māori, the digraphs ng and wh are each treated as single letters.
In Canada, the longest place name is Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn, Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde, a township in Ontario, at 61 letters or 68 non-space characters.[28]
The 58-letter name Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is the name of a town on Anglesey, an island of Wales. In terms of the traditional Welsh alphabet, the name is only 51 letters long, as certain digraphs in Welsh are considered as single letters, for instance ll, ng and ch. It is generally agreed, however, that this invented name, adopted in the mid-19th century, was contrived solely to be the longest name of any town in Britain. The official name of the place is Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, commonly abbreviated to Llanfairpwll or Llanfair PG.
The longest non-contrived place name in the United Kingdom which is a single non-hyphenated word is Cottonshopeburnfoot (19 letters) and the longest which is hyphenated is Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe (29 characters).
The longest place name in the United States (45 letters) is Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, a lake in Webster, Massachusetts. It means «Fishing Place at the Boundaries – Neutral Meeting Grounds» and is sometimes facetiously translated as «you fish your side of the water, I fish my side of the water, nobody fishes the middle». The lake is also known as Webster Lake.[29] The longest hyphenated names in the U.S. are Winchester-on-the-Severn, a town in Maryland, and Washington-on-the-Brazos, a notable place in Texas history. The longest single-word town names in the U.S. are Kleinfeltersville, Pennsylvania and Mooselookmeguntic, Maine.
The longest official geographical name in Australia is Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya.[30] It has 26 letters and is a Pitjantjatjara word meaning «where the Devil urinates».[31]
Liechtenstein is the longest country name with single name in English. The second longest country name with single name in English is Turkmenistan. There are longer country names if one includes ones with spaces.
Personal names
Guinness World Records formerly contained a category for longest personal name used.
- From about 1975 to 1985, the recordholder was Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffvoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolftausendjahresvorandieerscheinenwanderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortplanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvonandererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum, Senior (746 letters), also known as Wolfe+585, Senior.
- After 1985 Guinness briefly awarded the record to a newborn girl with a longer name. The category was removed shortly afterward.
Long birth names are often coined in protest of naming laws or for other personal reasons.
- The naming law in Sweden was challenged by parents Lasse Diding and Elisabeth Hallin, who proposed the given name «Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116» for their child (pronounced [ˈǎlːbɪn], 43 characters), which was rejected by a district court in Halmstad, southern Sweden.
Words with certain characteristics of notable length
- Schmaltzed and strengthed (10 letters) appear to be the longest monosyllabic words recorded in The Oxford English Dictionary, while scraunched and scroonched appear to be the longest monosyllabic words recorded in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary; but squirrelled (11 letters) is the longest if pronounced as one syllable only (as permitted in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary at squirrel, and in Longman Pronunciation Dictionary). Schtroumpfed (12 letters) was coined by Umberto Eco, while broughammed (11 letters) was coined by William Harmon after broughamed (10 letters) was coined by George Bernard Shaw.
- Strengths is the longest word in the English language containing only one vowel letter.[32]
- Euouae, a medieval musical term, is the longest English word consisting only of vowels, and the word with the most consecutive vowels. However, the «word» itself is simply a mnemonic consisting of the vowels to be sung in the phrase «seculorum Amen» at the end of the lesser doxology. (Although u was often used interchangeably with v, and the variant «Evovae» is occasionally used, the v in these cases would still be a vowel.)
- The longest words with no repeated letters are dermatoglyphics and uncopyrightable.[33]
- The longest word whose letters are in alphabetical order is the eight-letter Aegilops, a grass genus. However, this is arguably a proper noun. There are several six-letter English words with their letters in alphabetical order, including abhors, almost, begins, biopsy, chimps and chintz.[34] There are few 7-letter words, such as «billowy» and «beefily». The longest words whose letters are in reverse alphabetical order are sponged, wronged and trollied.
- The longest words recorded in OED with each vowel only once, and in order, are abstemiously, affectiously, and tragediously (OED). Fracedinously and gravedinously (constructed from adjectives in OED) have thirteen letters; Gadspreciously, constructed from Gadsprecious (in OED), has fourteen letters. Facetiously is among the few other words directly attested in OED with single occurrences of all six vowels (counting y as a vowel).
- The longest single palindromic word in English is rotavator, another name for a rotary tiller for breaking and aerating soil.
Typed words
- The longest words typable with only the left hand using conventional hand placement on a QWERTY keyboard are tesseradecades, aftercataracts, dereverberated, dereverberates[35] and the more common but sometimes hyphenated sweaterdresses.[34] Using the right hand alone, the longest word that can be typed is johnny-jump-up, or, excluding hyphens, monimolimnion[36] and phyllophyllin.
- The longest English word typable using only the top row of letters has 11 letters: rupturewort. The word teetertotter (used in North American English) is longer at 12 letters, although it is usually spelled with a hyphen.
- The longest using only the middle row is shakalshas (10 letters). Nine-letter words include flagfalls; eight-letter words include galahads and alfalfas.
- Since the bottom row contains no vowels, no standard words can be formed. [37]
- The longest words typable by alternating left and right hands are antiskepticism and leucocytozoans respectively.[34]
- On a Dvorak keyboard, the longest «left-handed» words are epopoeia, jipijapa, peekapoo, and quiaquia.[38] Other such long words are papaya, Kikuyu, opaque, and upkeep.[39] Kikuyu is typed entirely with the index finger, and so the longest one-fingered word on the Dvorak keyboard. There are no vowels on the right-hand side, and so the longest «right-handed» word is crwths.
See also
- Lipogram
- List of long species names
- List of the longest English words with one syllable
- Longest English sentence
- Longest word in French
- Longest word in Romanian
- Longest word in Spanish
- Longest word in Turkish
- Number of words in English
- Scriptio continua
- Sesquipedalianism
- Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft, longest published word in German
References
- ^ «Reading The Longest English Word (190,000 Characters)». YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ «World’s longest word takes 3.5 hours to pronounce». CW39 Houston. 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- ^ a b Colista Moore (2011). Student’s Dictionary. p. 524. ISBN 978-1-934669-21-1.
- ^ see separate article Lopado…pterygon
- ^ Donald McFarlan; Norris Dewar McWhirter; David A. Boeh (1989). Guinness book of world records: 1990. Sterling. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-8069-5790-6.
- ^ a b Coined around 1935 to be the longest word; press reports on puzzle league members legitimized it somewhat. First appeared in the MWNID supplement, 1939. Today OED and several others list it, but citations are almost always as «longest word». More detail at pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
- ^ «Merriam Webster: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious».
- ^ «What is the longest English word?». AskOxford. Archived from the original on 2008-10-22. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
- ^ «What is the longest English word?». oxforddictionaries.com.[dead link]
- ^ «Merriam Webster: «Antidisestablishmentarianism is not in the dictionary.»«.
- ^ «Cool, Strange, and Interesting Facts,» fact 99. InnocentEnglish.com. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
- ^ «pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis – definition of pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis in English from the Oxford dictionary». oxforddictionaries.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19.
- ^ «The Longest Word in the Dictionary» (Video). Ask the Editor. Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
- ^ «Floccinaucinihilipilification» by Michael Quinion World Wide Words Archived 2006-08-21 at the Wayback Machine;
- ^ The Guinness Book of Records, in its 1992 and previous editions, declared the longest real word in the English language to be floccinaucinihilipilification. More recent editions of the book have acknowledged pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. What is the longest English word? — Oxford Dictionaries Online Archived 2006-08-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ In recent times its usage has been recorded in the proceedings of the United States Senate by Senator Robert Byrd Discussion between Sen. Moynihan and Sen. Byrd «Mr. President, may I say to the distinguished Senator from New York, I used that word on the Senate floor myself 2 or 3 years ago. I cannot remember just when or what the occasion was, but I used it on that occasion to indicate that whatever it was I was discussing it was something like a mere trifle or nothing really being of moment.» Congressional Record June 17, 1991, p. S7887, and at the White House by Bill Clinton’s press secretary Mike McCurry, albeit sarcastically. December 6, 1995, White House Press Briefing in discussing Congressional Budget Office estimates and assumptions: «But if you – as a practical matter of estimating the economy, the difference is not great. There’s a little bit of floccinaucinihilipilification going on here.»
- ^ Eckler, R. Making the Alphabet Dance, p 252, 1996.
- ^ «Longest Common Words – Modern». Maltron.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
- ^ «Glossary of W3C Jargon». World Wide Web Consortium. Archived from the original on 2008-10-25. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
- ^ «Origin of the Abbreviation I18n». Archived from the original on 2014-06-27.
- ^ «Localization vs. Internationalization». World Wide Web Consortium. Archived from the original on 2016-04-03.
- ^ Paux et al. (2008) Science, Vol. 322 (5898) 101-104. A Physical Map of the 1-Gigabase Bread Wheat Chromosome 3B Paux, Etienne; Sourdille, Pierre; Salse, Jérôme; Saintenac, Cyrille; Choulet, Frédéric; Leroy, Philippe; Korol, Abraham; Michalak, Monika; Kianian, Shahryar; Spielmeyer, Wolfgang; Lagudah, Evans; Somers, Daryl; Kilian, Andrzej; Alaux, Michael; Vautrin, Sonia; Bergès, Hélène; Eversole, Kellye; Appels, Rudi; Safar, Jan; Simkova, Hana; Dolezel, Jaroslav; Bernard, Michel; Feuillet, Catherine (2008). «A Physical Map of the 1-Gigabase Bread Wheat Chromosome 3B». Science. 322 (5898): 101–104. Bibcode:2008Sci…322..101P. doi:10.1126/science.1161847. PMID 18832645. S2CID 27686615. Archived from the original on 2015-09-03. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
- ^ Chemical Abstracts Formula Index, Jan.-June 1964, Page 967F; Chemical Abstracts 7th Coll. Formulas, C23H32-Z, 56-65, 1962–1966, Page 6717F
- ^ «Opinion 105. Dybowski’s (1926) Names of Crustacea Suppressed». Opinions Rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature: Opinions 105 to 114. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Vol. 73. 1929. pp. 1–3. hdl:10088/23619. BHL page 8911139.
- ^ rjk. «World’s longest name of an animal. Parastratiosphecomyia stratiosphecomyioides Stratiomyid Fly Soldier Fly». thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
- ^ cited in some editions of the Guinness Book of Records as the longest word in English, see Askoxford.com on the longest English word
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ «GeoNames Government of Canada site». Archived from the original on 2009-02-06.
- ^ Belluck, Pam (2004-11-20). «What’s the Name of That Lake? It’s Hard to Say». The New York Times.
- ^ «Geoscience Australia Gazetteer». Archived from the original on 2007-10-01.
- ^ «South Australian State Gazetteer». Archived from the original on 2007-10-01.
- ^ «Guinness Records».
- ^ «Longest Word Without Repeating Letters». December 2014.
- ^ a b c «Typewriter Words». Questrel.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
- ^ «Science Links Japan | Two Unique Aftercataracts Requiring Surgical Removal». Sciencelinks.jp. 2009-03-18. Archived from the original on 2011-02-17. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
- ^ «Dictionary entry for monimolimnion, a word that, at 13 letters, is longer than any of the words linked in the source above». Archived from the original on 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
- ^ «Word Records». Fun-with-words.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-26. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
- ^ «Typewriter Words». Wordnik.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
- ^ «The Dvorak Keyboard and You». Theworldofstuff.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-20. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
External links
This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 8 January 2011, and does not reflect subsequent edits.
- A Collection of Word Oddities and Trivia – Long words
- Long words (chemical names)
- Long words (place names)
- What is the longest English word?, AskOxford.com «Ask the Experts»
- What is the Longest Word?, Fun-With-Words.com
- Full chemical name of titin.
- Taxonomy of Wordplay
Longest Words: You have been using English for quite a while now for writing, reading, thinking, and even dreaming. English, as a language, has become a part and do up of your life. But have you ever wondered about the unique and weird words in the English language? How many times have you thought of the number of words in the English language or the smallest word or the longest word in the English language? It is not every day that we think of such weird aspects of the English language because we are so used to speaking the language that we don’t take interest and dig deep into the interesting facts about this beautiful, yet universal language.
As a result of that, in this particular article on longest words in the English language, we are going to talk about these unique titbits in the English language. One interesting fact to be noted here is that the English language, as per the Oxford English Dictionary, has approximately 171,500 words so far. That is quite a lot of vocabulary to consume in one single life, isn’t it? Thus, we will discuss a few longest words that are mentioned in the Oxford English dictionary with their meaning.
- 10 Longest Words in English Language with Meaning
- Where Do We Use Longest Words?
- FAQs on Longest Words in English
10 Longest Words in English Language with Meaning
Below is a list of the 10 longest words in the English language, along with their meaning and usage:
- Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis: This massive 45-letter English word is the longest one in the Oxford English dictionary so far. This term refers to a lung disease that is caused by the inhalation of extremely fine particles of silica and quartz dust. Yes, now you know the longest word in the English language has 45 letters in it.
- Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: This 36-letter, increasingly complicated word is one of the English language’s longest. With a whopping 36 letters and a difficult pronunciation, it is the word with the longest time taken for proper pronunciation. This word refers to having an abnormal fear of long words. The irony is that the name is hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: Another competitor for the previous two words, with a whopping 34 letters. Also, this is one of the most popular long words in the English language. Its popularity grew after it was widely used in the film Mary Poppins. This word refers to saying something when you have nothing to say. There is a very catchy song written on this word, the most atrocious word in the English language, as per the song.
- Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism: This soothing word for the ears is the fourth longest in the English language, with 30 letters. It refers to a mild disorder in the bloodstream that is mainly characterized by an increased level of calcium and phosphorus in the blood. Well, medical professionals and doctors will have a tough time pronouncing it for the rest of their lives.
- Floccinaucinihilipilification: another funny but important word is one of the longest words in the Mariam Webster dictionary, which has 29 letters in it. This word refers to a habit or an act that is unimportant or has no value or recognition. While the meaning of the word has no value or is worthless, the word itself has a lot of value in English literature academic circles. It is mostly used in a humorous manner.
- Antidisestablishmentarianism: This 28-letter-composed word refers to a 19th-century political turmoil experienced in the British Empire, which demanded the separation of the Church from the state administration. People in this movement wanted the Church of England to be deposed as the official state church of England, Ireland, and Wales.
- Honorificabilitudinitatibus: One of the most difficult words to pronounce in this article is “honorificabilitudinitatibus.” It is the longest word in the language of English and consists of a mix of vowels and consonants.
- Thyroparathyroidectomism: A 25-letter word is once again a technical and medical term. There are plenty of such words in the field of medicine that can make a doctor’s life more difficult as it is. This term refers to the removal or surgery of the thyroid and parathyroid glands. Once again, one should note that there are many such words in the field of surgery and medicine, and the reason for this is that most of these words are taken from a mix of languages such as Greek, Latin, Russian, and French.
- Dicholodifluromethane: This is the only straightforward word in this list of the longest English words that can be understood by laymen, to an extent. This word refers to a chemical vapor known popularly as CFCs, the most common element found in AC, TVs, and vehicular pollution. One must be aware that this chemical substance was the reason for the depletion of our ozone layer a few years ago.
- Incomprehensible: Again, a fairly popular word in the English language, which means something that is not possible to comprehend. This is also referred to as the longest word that is most commonly used by the general public
There are few other longest words in the English language other than the mentioned words in the above section of this longest word. However, these words are very niche in nature and are used by specific groups of people, such as scientists, doctors, astronauts, and engineers. There are plenty of chemical substances whose names are longer than the ones that are mentioned in this article on the longest words in the English language. While most of them are rarely used, it is interesting to know the meaning and usage of these words, both for general knowledge of the English language and just for the fun of it. A few of the technical words that we have come across that are long enough to feature in this article are:
- Radioimmunoelectrophoresis
- Counterimmunoeletrophoresis
- Dicholodiphenyltricholoethane
- Spookydisharmoniousconflicthellride
- Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
Where Are the Longest Words in the English Language Used Most Commonly?
It is clear by now that not all the words mentioned in this article are used by the common man. Hence, in that case, who uses these words and where are they used? The answers to these questions lie below:
- Doctors
- Engineers
- Scientists
- Teachers
- Researchers
- A Journalist
- Diplomats
- Administrators
If you observe closely, you will get to know that most of these words are technical and are related to chemistry, physics, mathematics, geometry, or geography. And hence, these words are rarely used, and even if they are used, they are used only by a specific section of the population.
FAQs on the Longest Words in the English Language
The frequently asked questions on the Longest words in the English language are explained below:
1. Which is the longest word in the English language?
Answer: Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is the longest known word in the English language, as per the Oxford Dictionary of English.
2. Where are long words used?
Answer: Long words, which are mostly technical and are mainly used in scientific circles, are used in research papers, scientific journals, newspaper articles on science, and English literature textbooks.
3. Which is the most common longest word in English?
Answer: Incomprehensible is the longest word in English with the most common usage.
Conclusion
We would like to conclude that while the longest words mentioned above are not required by students, writers, or teachers to improve their vocabulary, knowing them is fun and increases mental horizons in English literature. It is also to be noted that this vocabulary will come in handy if you are having a conversation with a medical professional, an engineer, or a scientist who works in the fields to which these words are related.
Would you believe that there are 21 of the longest words in English language that have more than 20 letters? As it turns out, these long words can be quite useful for showing off your vocabulary skills. But what do they mean? In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at 21 of the longest words in English and what they mean. So whether you’re looking to impress your friends or just learn something new, keep reading!
Here are the 21 of the Longest Words in English:
1. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is one of the longest words in English, and it’s also one of the most difficult to pronounce. But what does it actually mean? The word was first used in 1935 by a doctor named E.M. Hoda, who defined it as “a chronic lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust.” However, the word is now considered to be obsolete, and it’s rarely used in medical contexts.
Nevertheless, it remains a fascinating example of the flexibility of language. With a little creativity, it’s possible to create words that are both long and meaningful. And in an era of text messaging and Twitter, brevity is often overrated. So the next time you need to express a complex idea, don’t be afraid to reach for the dictionary. With a little effort, you might just find the perfect word.
2. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest words in English. But it’s not just the length that makes it impressive, it’s also the meaning. The word describes a fear of long words, which might seem like a silly thing to be afraid of. But for those who suffer from hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, the fear is very real.
The word itself is derived from the Greek ‘hippopotamos’, meaning ‘river horse’, and ‘monstrōsēs’, meaning ‘monstrous’. The ‘equippedalis’ part comes from the Latin ‘equus’, meaning ‘horse’, and ‘pedalis’, meaning ‘foot’. So the word literally means ‘fear of long words that are like monsters with horse feet’.
It’s not known exactly how many people suffer from hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, but it is thought to be relatively rare. For those who do have the condition, it can be extremely debilitating. Just hearing a long word can trigger anxiety and panic, and in severe cases, even lead to avoidance behavior. If you know someone who has hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, it’s important to be understanding and patient. With treatment and support, they can overcome their fear and live a normal life.
3. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
If you’re looking for a challenge, try pronouncing pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism. At 30 letters, it’s one of the longest words in the English language. And it’s not just a jumble of random syllables – it actually has a meaning.
Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is a condition that causes people to have the symptoms of hypoparathyroidism, even though their parathyroid glands are functioning normally. So what’s the pseudo all about? It comes from the Greek word for false, because the symptoms are false alarms.
Despite its length, pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is a relatively rare condition – but that doesn’t make it any less confusing for those who have it.
4.Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is one of the longest words in English, and it’s a perfect example of why length isn’t everything when it comes to words. The word was coined by Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers and first appeared in the 1964 Disney film adaptation of her book.
It’s a made-up word intended to convey the idea of something “extraordinary and wonderful,” and it succeeds admirably on both counts. The word is so playful and fun to say that it immediately puts a smile on your face, which is more than can be said for a lot of longer words.
In addition, its length makes it perfect for use in all sorts of creative endeavors, from children’s songs to crossword puzzles. So even though it may not be the most useful word in the English language, there’s no denying that supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is one of the most memorable.
5.Hepaticocholangiogastrostomy
Hepaticocholangiogastrostomy is one of the longest words in the English language, clocking in at 28 letters. That’s quite a mouthful! And it’s not even the longest word in medical terminology – that honor goes to pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, at 45 letters. So what does hepaticocholangiogastrostomy mean?
It’s a surgical procedure that involves connecting the hepatic duct (the main bile duct) to the stomach. The procedure is typically performed when there is a blockage in the bile duct that prevents bile from flowing into the intestine. By connecting the hepatic duct directly to the stomach, bypasses the blockage and allows bile to flow into the intestine as normal.
Hepaticocholangiogastrostomy is just one example of the many long words that can be found in medical dictionaries. So next time you’re feeling stuck for something to say, why not impress your friends with your knowledge of this very long word!
6. Radioimmunoelectrophoresis
As one of the longest words in English, “radioimmunoelectrophoresis” is certainly an impressive-sounding piece of vocabulary. But what does it actually mean? Radioimmunoelectrophoresis is a technique used to separate charged particles according to their size and charge. It relies on the fact that charged particles will be deflected when placed in an electric field.
By varying the strength of the electric field, radioimmunoelectrophoresis can be used to separates a wide range of particles, from small ions to large proteins. This makes it a valuable tool for research in many different fields, ranging from biology to geology.
So next time you see the word “radioimmunoelectrophoresis,” don’t be intimidated – just think of it as a long way of saying “electric field separation.
7. Antidisestablishmentarianism
Antidisestablishmentarianism is one of the longest words in English, and it’s also one of the most interesting. The word is made up of three parts: “anti-,” “disestablishment,” and “-arianism.” The “anti-” part is fairly self-explanatory; it means against or opposed to. “Disestablishment” is a bit more complicated. In this context, it means the act of ending state support for a particular church or religion. “-arianism” is a suffix that refers to a belief or doctrine.
So, put all together, antidisestablishmentarianism is the belief that the state should not support any particular church or religion.
Interestingly, the word was actually coined in the 19th century in opposition to the Disestablishment Act of 1833, which ended state support for the Church of England.
So, in a way, the word itself is a testament to the power of established institutions. After all, if the people who opposed the Disestablishment Act hadn’t come up with such a long and memorable word, it’s unlikely that the act would have been overturned.
In any case, antidisestablishmentarianism is a fascinating example of how a single word can encapsulate a complex political belief.
8. Spectrophotofluorometrically
English is a weird language. It’s full of words that are hard to pronounce, and it often doesn’t follow any logical rules. One of the longest words in English is “spectrophotofluorometrically.” It’s made up of four parts: “spectro,” meaning “light”; “photo,” meaning “light”; “fluoro,” meaning “fluorescence”; and “metrical,” meaning “measurement.”
The word is used to describe a process of measuring the amount of light that is absorbed by a material when it is exposed to light. While the word may be difficult to say, it’s actually quite simple conceptually. So next time you’re feeling challenged by a long word, just remember that it might not be as complicated as it seems.
9.Floccinaucinihilipilification
Floccinaucinihilipilification is one of the longest words in the English language, and it’s also one of the most fun to say. The word comes from the Latin root words “floccus,” “naucum,” “nihilum,” and “pilus,” which all have to do with wool or hair. “Floccus” means “woolen tuft;” “naucum” means “nape of the neck;” “nihilum” means “nothing;” and “pilus” means “hair.”
Put them all together, and you get a word that means “the estimation of something as worthless.” In other words, it’s the act of regarding something as unimportant or not worth considering.
The word first appeared in print in 1741, in a work called A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose.
Since then, it has been used sparingly but has popped up from time to time in works by some fairly famous authors. In 1826, Edward Gibbon used it in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: “…the decline of Rome was hastened by savage infants who, born in slavery, could not be impressed by the floccinaucinihilipilification of liberty.”
10.Psychoneuroendocrinological
The word psychoneuroendocrinological is one of the longest words in the English language, and it’s also one of the most interesting. It’s a combination of three different words: psycho, which refers to the mind; neuro, which refers to the nervous system; and endocrine, which refers to the glands that produce hormones.
Together, these three word parts form a word that refers to the study of how the mind, nervous system, and hormones interact.
Psychoneuroendocrinology is a relatively new field of study, and it’s still uncovering a lot of fascinating information about how our minds and bodies work together. For example, recent research has shown that stress can cause physical changes in our bodies, including changes in hormone levels.
This research is helping us to understand how stress affects our health and well-being, and it’s also providing insight into how we can better manage stress. As we continue to learn more about psychoneuroendocrinology, we’re sure to uncover even more fascinating information about the mind-body connection.
11. Incomprehensibilities
Incomprehensibilities. There’s a word for you. It’s one of the longest words in English, and it pretty much sums up the last year for me. I’ve been working on a project that, frankly, has been incomprehensible at times. The goal has been to come up with a way to help people who feel stuck in their lives to find a new way forward.
And, while I’m not done yet, I’m starting to see results. Incomprehensibilities, though? That’s still the word that comes to mind when I think about the challenges I’ve faced along the way. But, hey, if you’re going to take on a big challenge, you might as
12. Immunoelectrophoretically
If you’re looking for a challenge, try saying “immunoelectrophoretically” five times fast. This tongue-twister of a word is one of the longest in the English language, clocking in at 25 letters. Though it may be a mouthful, immunoelectrophoresis is a relatively simple concept.
It’s a type of electrophoresis, which is a technique used to separate molecules based on their electric charge. In this case, the molecules being separated are antibodies, which are proteins produced by the immune system in response to foreign substances.
Immunoelectrophoresis is used to diagnose autoimmune disorders and other conditions in which the body produces abnormal amounts of antibodies. So next time you’re feeling ambitious, give this word a shot – but be prepared for a bit of a workout for your jaw muscles.
13. Uncopyrightable
As a marketer, I’m always looking for words that are both attention-grabbing and accurate. So when I came across the word “uncopyrightable,” I knew I had found a winner.
This word, which is featured in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, describes something that can’t be copyrighted. And while that might not seem all that useful at first glance, it actually has a lot of implications for marketers.
For one thing, it means that you can use this word in your marketing without having to worry about violating someone’s copyright. That’s because there’s no such thing as a copyright on this word. It’s in the public domain, which means anyone can use it however they want.
But beyond that, the word “uncopyrightable” also has a strong message attached to it. When you use this word, you’re effectively saying that your product or service is so unique and valuable that it can’t be copied. That’s a powerful statement to make, and it’s one that is sure to grab people’s attention.
So if you’re looking for a way to stand out from the competition, consider using the word “uncopyrightable” in your marketing. It’s a great way to get people’s attention and make a strong statement about your business at the same time.
14. Uncharacteristically
Uncharacteristically is one of the longest words in English. It’s often used to describe someone who’s not acting like themselves. For example, if you normally see your friend at the gym every day, but today they’re uncharacteristically skipping their workout, that means something’s up.
Maybe they’re sick, or maybe something else is going on. Either way, it’s not usual for them. Another example might be if someone is uncharacteristically late to a meeting. That might mean they had a hard time getting there, or it could be a sign that they don’t really care about the meeting.
Whatever the case may be, uncharacteristically is a great word to describe when someone isn’t acting like their normal selves.
15. Psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistics is the study of how we produce and understand language. It’s a fascinating field that looks at everything from the way infants learn to speak to the way adults use language in everyday life. Psycholinguists also investigate the role of language in thought and cognition, and the relationship between language and culture.
And because language is such a central part of our lives, psycholinguistics has implications for many different disciplines, from psychology and neuroscience to anthropology and sociology. So whether you’re interested in how we acquire language or how we use it, psycholinguistics is a field that definitely merits further exploration.
16. Pneumoencephalographically
Pneumoencephalographically is one of the longest words in English, but what does it actually mean? This medical term refers to an imaging technique that is used to study the brain. It involves injecting air into the space between the brain and the skull.
This procedure creates a clear image of the brain, which can be used to diagnostic problems or track the progression of diseases. While pneumoencephalography is no longer used as often as it once was, it remains an important tool in the diagnosis of neurological disorders.
17. Psychophysicotherapeutics
25 letters long, “psychophysicotherapeutics” is one of the longest words in the English language. And it’s not just a made-up word for Scrabble players; it’s a real, albeit rare, term. So what does it mean? “Psychophysicotherapeutics” is actually two words smashed together: “psychophysical,” meaning relating to or involving both the mental and physical aspects of someone or something, and “therapeutics,” meaning the treatment of disease.
Put them together and you have a word that refers to the treatment of mental and physical diseases. Interestingly, “psychophysicotherapeutics” isn’t just long; it’s also one of the most precise words in the English language. There’s no wasted verbiage here; every letter serves a purpose. So next time you’re looking for a term that perfectly describes the treatment of both mind and body, reach for “psychophysicotherapeutics.”
18. Thyroparathyroidectomized
At 25 letters long, “thyroparathyroidectomized” is one of the longest words in the English language. But what does it mean? “Thyroparathyroidectomized” is a medical term that refers to the removal of the thyroid gland and the parathyroid glands. This surgery is typically performed to treat hyperparathyroidism, a condition in which the parathyroid glands secrete too much hormone.
The surgery is also sometimes used to treat thyroid cancer. While “thyroparathyroidectomized” may be a mouthful, it’s a good reminder that the English language is always evolving. As our understanding of the human body grows, so too do our medical terms. So next time you come across a long word like “thyroparathyroidectomized,” don’t be discouraged. Just think of it as another example of the English language at its best.
19.Otorhinolaryngological
At 23 letters long, “otorhinolaryngological” is one of the longest words in the English language. It’s a mouthful to say, and it’s also a mouthful to define: the word refers to the study of the ear, nose, and throat. This branch of medicine is important for diagnosing and treating conditions that affect these parts of the body, including hearing loss, allergies, and sinus infections. While “otorhinolaryngological” may be a difficult word to pronounce, it’s an important one to know. After all, it’s responsible for keeping our sense of hearing, smell, and taste sharp.
20. Dermatoglyphics
Dermatoglyphics is one of the longest words in English, and it refers to the study of fingerprints. The word itself is derived from two Greek words: derma, meaning “skin,” and glyph, meaning “carving.” The study of fingerprints has a long history, dating back to ancient times.
In China, for example, fingerprint patterns were used for identification purposes as early as the ninth century. Today, dermatoglyphics is still used for a variety of purposes, including law enforcement and forensic science. In addition, the study of fingerprints can also provide insights into individual personality traits and health conditions.
So next time you come across this long word, remember that it’s not just pronounced “der-muh-tuh-GLIF-iks.” It also has a fascinating history and a range of practical applications.
21. Bronchopneumonitis
Bronchopneumonitis is one of the longest words in English, clocking in at 21 letters. But it’s more than just a mouthful-it’s also a serious lung condition that can be caused by airborne viruses or bacteria. In Bronchopneumonitis, the bronchi (the large airways leading to the lungs) become inflamed and fill with fluid.
This can lead to difficulty breathing, coughing, and chest pain. In severe cases, Bronchopneumonitis can be life-threatening. While there is no cure for Bronchopneumonitis, early diagnosis and treatment is essential for preventing serious complications. So if you start feeling short of breath, don’t hesitate to see your doctor-you might just save your life.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a lot of long words in the English language that have interesting uses. While some of them are so long that they are rarely used, they can still have a significant impact when they are. If you ever need to use one of these words, make sure you use it properly and don’t overuse it. Otherwise, you may risk sounding like you’re trying too hard or using big words for no reason.
FAQs
What are the longest words in English?
The longest word in English is “antidisestablishmentarianism,” which is made up of 28 letters. Other long words include: “floccinaucinihilipilification” (29 letters), “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis” (45 letters), and “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” (34 letters).
What do these long words mean?
Antidisestablishmentarianism means opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England. Floccinaucinihilipilification means the act or instance of estimating as worthless. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is a lung disease caused by breathing in very fine particles of silicon dioxide. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious means extremely wonderful.
Why are there so many long words in English?
There are a few reasons. First, English has a lot of loanwords from other languages. These foreign words often retain their original spelling, even if that means they’re longer than their English equivalents. Second, English speakers love to coin new words by combining existing ones. This can create very long words, like “antidisestablishmentarianism.” Finally, some long words are just the result of regular old word formation processes. For example, the word “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis” is made up of various smaller words meaning “lung,” “ultra-microscopic,” and “volcano.” When these words are put together, they create a new word that’s much longer than any of its parts.
What are some other long words in English?
Here are a few more long words: “honorificabilitudinitatibus” (27 letters), “pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism” (30 letters), “thyroparathyroidectomized” (25 letters), and “antidiarrheal” (12 letters).
Last Updated: Dec 30, 2019
How many words exactly are in the English language? The second edition of the current 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary contains 171,476 words in current use. That’s a lot! Which gets the mind thinking the next question, what’s the longest word in current use today?
Many of the longest words in the dictionary refer to medicine or chemistry. You’ll find a few defined in here along with other long words that you may or may not already use. Here’s how Merriam-Webster defines the ten longest words in the English language.
1. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters)
Pneumoconiosis caused by inhalation of very fine silicate or quartz dust.
2. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (36 letters)
Ironically, Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest work in the dictionary and is the name for a fear of long words! Who would have thought, right?
3. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters)
Perhaps the best word of all! Made popular by the film Mary Poppins, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is something to say when you have nothing to say.
4. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (30 letters)
A relatively mild form of pseudohypoparathyroidism that is characterized by normal levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood.
5. Floccinaucinihilipilification (29 letters)
The longest unchallenged nontechnical word that not all directories recognize, that including Merriam-Webster. According to alternative sources, floccinaucinihilipilification is the act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant, of having no value or being worthless. Often times, it is used in a humorous way.
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6. Antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters)
A term referring to a political movement in 19th century Britain that sought to separate church and state. In this case, political movement wanted to disestablish the Church of England as the official state church of England, Ireland and Wales.
7. Honorificabilitudinitatibus (27 letters)
The longest word in Shakespeare’s works. Honorificabilitudinitatibus is the longest word in the English language featuring alternating consonants and vowels.
8. Thyroparathyroidectomized (25 letters)
A medical term that defines the excision of both the thyroid and parathyroid glands.
9. Dichlorodifluoromethane (23 letters)
A chlorofluoromethane CF2Cl2.
10. Incomprehensibilities (21 letters)
Impossible to comprehend. In the 1990’s, incomprehensibilities set the record as the longest word “in common usage.”
LONGEST ENGLISH WORD:Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl…isoleucine (189,819 letters)
If we’re talking chemistry, the longest chemical name is 189,819 letters long. It is the chemical name for titin, a giant filamentous protein essential to the structure, development, and elasticity of muscle. As to whether or not this is an actual word is disputed by many. It is not in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, so you shouldn’t ever have to worry about spelling it. ?
Have you ever wondered what the longest English word in the world is? Or how many letters does such a word contain? The identity of the longest word in English language could differ by defining a word differently. It could be a notable long word like a place name/personal name or creations of long words such as a coinage/technical term.
What is the Longest Word in the English Language?
What is the longest word in the world? Long words consisting of hundreds of thousands of letters only exist in alphabetic languages like English. For character-based languages like Chinese, a word is made up of one or a few characters, making their length notably limited.
Arbitrary
The length of the English word is most commonly based on orthography and the total number of its written letters. There’s no definite answer to what the world’s longest word is. To give a particularly vivid example, the word “great-great-great-…great-great-grandparent” contains an arbitrary amount of letters, depending on how many “-great”s are attached to the root word “parent.” In such case, no other English word can beat this word in terms of the counting numbers of the written letters because you can add as many “-great”s as you like to extend the length.
Chemical
When it comes to the biggest word in the world by magnitude, the word for the chemical composition of titin (Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylalanyl…isoleucine) takes the crown with 189,819 letters. Yes, this long word looks like the text produced by someone who had accidentally sat on the keyboard for a considerable amount of time. If you have three hours to spare and the insane patience, you can try to say the entire word.
Its incredible length and the controversy over whether it should be considered a word have hindered this technical term for the largest known protein from entering the dictionary.
The second longest word in English is Methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamyl…serine with 1,909 letters. Compared to the longest word in English, this chemical term of E coli TrpA (P0A877) is luckier since it is the longest published word in English, though not in a dictionary.
Ten Longest English Words in the Dictionary
The length of a word is measured by the number of its written letters. In the following passage, we will list the ten longest words in the English dictionaries according to their length. Depending on their usage and popularity, these words are listed in one or more of the major dictionaries.
Forty-five Letters
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, the synonym for the disease silicosis, is the longest word in the most trusted English dictionaries like the Webster’s, Oxford, Chambers, and Random House with 45 letters. This medical term was coined in 1935 and describes the occupational lung disease caused by breathing in crystalline silica dust. Interestingly, this word was purposely designed to invent the then-new longest word. Consequently, the Oxford English Dictionary describes it as a factitious word.
Thirty-seven Letters
The second longest word in the English dictionary is the 37-letters-long word hepaticocholangiocholecystenterostomies, a surgical term in Gould’s Medical Dictionary that describes it as the creation of a link between a hepatic and the gall bladder and between the gall bladder and the intestine.
Thirty-four Letters
The third longest word published in the English dictionary is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious with 34 letters. It is a song and single by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke from the Disney musical film Mary Poppins in 1964.
Thirty Letters
The adjective hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian is 30 letters long, ranking fourth on our list of the longest English words in the dictionary. Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Preposterous Words defines it as of/pertaining to an extremely long word.
Twenty-nine Letters
The word floccinaucinihilipilification comes fifth with 29 letters. Dating back to 1741, it is the longest word in the 1st edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and the 1992 Guinness Book of World Records refers to it as the longest real word. This uncountable noun is the act/habit of regarding something as worthless/unimportant. Interestingly, the common English letter E doesn’t occur in this word, while the letter I appears nine times in total.
Twenty-eight Letters
The sixth longest word in the English dictionary is antidisestablishmentarianism, with 28 letters. It refers to a political philosophy that opposes the withdrawal of state recognition or support from its national Church. This word is considered one the most popular longest words in English in the past decades.
Twenty-seven Letters
Honorificabilitudinitatibus, the synonym for honorableness, comes seventh on the long English words list, with two other 27-letters-long words being electroencephalographically and antitransubstantiationalist. It means the state of being able to achieve honors. Honorificabilitudinitatibus first appeared as an English word in 1599 and entered Bailey’s Dictionary in 1721 as the longest word in English back then. Additionally, it is the longest English word Shakespeare ever used in his works.
Electroencephalographically is tied for the seventh longest word in English dictionary, meaning by means of electroencephalography, an apparatus that detects electrical potentials on the scalp and records brain waves. It is the longest unhyphenated word listed in the 10th edition of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary together with the chemical term ethylenediaminetetraacetate, a salt of Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetic Acid.
Another 27-letter word is antitransubstantiationalist, a religious term that describes someone who disagrees that the consecrated bread and wine can actually change into the body and blood of Christ.
Translating the Longest Word in English
The longest word in the English language can come in many forms. It could be Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, the 85-letters-long place name for a hill near the town of Porangahau in New Zealand. Or it could be Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr., the longest personal name ever used that was made up of 747 characters. Whether it’s the medical word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis or other incredibly long chemical terms, translating such words will require in-country/industry specific linguists who can guarantee the accuracy of its translations based on their linguistic, cultural, and technical knowledge of the subject matter.
Getting the correct pronunciation of the longest word in English is a Herculean task per se. Not to mention translating it right. That’s why you need to work with professionals. If you need such experts to handle the translation of just about any content from and into English or any other language in the matter, Wordspath is the go-to option! Contact us to further discuss your linguistic needs by hitting the button below.
Conclusion
The longest word in English is not always the same one. As time goes by, new long words will be coined and outrank the old ones on the long words list. In the great world where wonders never cease, which long word lives up to the name of the world’s longest word is really up to your preference.
How to Read Long Words in English
How to read long words in English has been explained here. Long words in the English Language are called sesquipedalian words (long or polysyllabic) and still, longer words are described as hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian words.
Most of these long words in English are technical and we are unlikely to come across in our daily life. So several of these words may not be defined or given their meanings in the dictionaries.
But to quench the thirst of a curious learner of the English Language I provide here much vital stuff about these words.
Before we try to know the meaning of these sesquipedalian words, a big question that pops up in our minds is how we read them.
Right? Don’t worry.
We have a simple method called ‘divide and conquer’ to read such big and difficult words in English. Generally, these long words are coined by adding prefixes and suffixes to the existing words to serve the new purposes.
So, identify these parts, divide them and conquer reading the entire word easily without any difficulty in a meaningful manner.
For example:
Here is a 45 lettered long word that can be found in major English Language Dictionaries. The meaning of this word is provided in the list given below.
PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVO LCANOCONIOSIS (45 letters)
PNEUMONO / ULTRA / MICRO/ SCOPIC / SILICO / VOLCANO / CONIOSIS
It is that simple if you properly divide the word however big it is.
But be careful. Don’t divide the words meaninglessly as
Psychotherapist > Psycho / the / rapist
Here is a marathon list of the great collection – 121 long or sesquipedalian words with a clue how to read:
How to Read Long Words in English
1) Word: INCOMPREHENSIBILITY (19 letters)
How to read: IN / COMPRE / HENSI / BILITY
Meaning: Difficulty to understand or comprehend
2) Word: HYPEROXYSOPHISTICAL (19 letters)
How to read: HYPEROXY / SOPHISTICAL
Meaning: Overly specious
3) Word: ULTRACREPIDARIANISM (19 letters)
How to read: ULTRA / CREPI / DARIAN / ISM
Meaning: The habit of giving opinions and advice on matters outside of one’s knowledge.
4) Word: QUATTUORVIGINTILLION (20 letters)
How to read: QUATTUOR / VIGIN / TI LLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 75 zeros
5) Word: OPHTHALMOSPINTHERISM (20 letters)
How to read: OPHTHALMO / SPINTHER / ISM
Meaning: The sensation of seeing spots before one’s eyes
6) Word: PHILOTHEOPAROPTESISM (20 letters)
How to read: PHILO / THEO / PAROPTESISM
Meaning: The practice of “roasting over a slow fire” those who have suffered the church’s displeasure
7) Word: COMICONOMENCLATURIST (20 letters)
How to read: COMICO / NOMEN / CLATURIST
Meaning: Someone who collects funny names
Word: QUINQUADRAGINTILLION (20 letters)
How to read: QUIN / QUADRA / GIN / TI LLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 138 zeros
9) Word: OCTOQUADRAGINTILLION (20 letters)
How to read: OCTO / QUADRA / GIN / TI LLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 147 zeros
10) Word: DUOQUINQUAGINTILLION (20 letters)
How to read: DUO / QUINQUA / GIN / TI LLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 159 zeros
How to Read Long Words in English
11) Word: SEXQUINQUAGINTILLION (20 letters)
How to read: SEX / QUINQUA / GIN / TI LLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 171 zeros
12) Word: TREQUINQUAGINTILLION (20 letters)
How to read: TRE / QUINQUA / GIN / TILLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 162 zeros
13) Word: MICROMINIATURIZATION (20 letters)
How to read: MICRO / MINIATUR / IZATION
Meaning: Construction of something on a scale which is smaller than miniature
14) Word: DISPROPORTIONABLENESS (21 letters)
How to read: DIS / PROPORTION / ABLENESS
Meaning: The state or condition of being disproportionable. This word is frequently cited as the longest English word in general usage.
15) Word: QUATTUORTRIGINTILLION (21 letters)
How to read: QUATTUOR / TRI / GIN / TILLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 105
16) Word: OSTEOCHONDRODYSPLASIA (21 letters)
How to read: OSTEO / CHONDRO / DYSPLASIA
Meaning: It is a general term for a disorder of the development of bone and cartilage
17) Word: BENZOTRITHIADIAZEPINE (21 letters)
How to read: BENZO / TRITHIA / DIAZEPINE
Meaning: This is an aromatic organic chemical compound
18) Word: OTORHINOLARYNGOLOGIST (21 letters)
How to read: OTO / RHINO / LARYNGO / LOGIST
Meaning: An ENT Specialist
19) Word: MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDOSIS (21 letters)
How to read: MUCO / POLY / SACCHARI / DOSIS
Meaning: Any of a group of inherited metabolic disorders in which mucopolysaccharides accumulate in various tissues, often leading to skeletal abnormalities, mental retardation, and reduced life expectancy.
20) Word: OCTOQUINQUAGINTILLION (21 letters)
How to read: OCTO / QUINQUA / GIN / TILLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 177 zeros
How to Read Long Words in English
21) Word: QUINQUINQUAGINTILLION (21 letters)
How to read: QUIN / QUINQUA / GIN / TI LLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 168 zeros
22) Word: NOVEMQUADRAGINTILLION (21 letters)
How to read: NOVEM / QUADRA / GIN / TILLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 150 zeros
23) Word: SEPTENQUADRAGINTILLION (22 letters)
How to read: SEPTEN / QUADRA / GINT / ILLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 144 zeros
24) Word: NOVEMQUINQUAGINTILLION (22 letters)
How to read: NOVEM / QUINQUA / GIN / TILLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 180 zeros
25) Word: QUATTUORNONAGINTILLION (22 letters)
How to read: QUATTUOR / NONA / GIN / TILLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 285 zeros
26) Word: BATHYSIDERODROMOPHOBIA (22 letters)
How to read: BATHY / SIDERO / DROMO / PHOBIA
Meaning: The irrational fear of subways and the underground in general
27) Word: GYNOTIKOLOBOMASSOPHILE (22 letters)
How to read: GYNO /TIKOLO / BOMASSO / PHILE
Meaning: A person who likes to nibble a woman’s earlobe
28) Word: INTERDENOMINATIONALISM (22 letters)
How to read: INTER / DENOMI / NATIONAL / ISM
Meaning: The principle of fostering intercommunion and cooperative activities among different religious denominations.
29) Word: OSTEOCHONDRODYSTROPHIA (22 letters)
How to read: OSTEO / CHONDRO / DYSTRO / PHIA
Meaning: The name of a disease, also known as “Morquio’s syndrome”.
30) Word: PALAEOTOPOMORPHOLOGIST (22 letters)
How to read: PALAEO / TOPO / MORPHO / LOGIST
Meaning: One who studies the configuration (topography) of land surfaces as a means of detecting and locating settlements, artefacts, or other traces of primitive man.
How to Read Long Words in English
31) Word: DEINSTITUTIONALISATION (22 letters)
How to read: DE / INSTI / TUTIONAL / ISATION
Meaning: It is the process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services for those diagnosed with a mental disorder or developmental disability.
32) Word: DYSMORPHOSTEOPALINKLASY (23 letters)
How to read: DYS /MORPHO / STEO / PALINK / LASY
Meaning: The operation of refracturing a bone that has healed with deformity after a fracture.
33) Word: PANCREATICODUODENOSTOMY (23 letters)
How to read: PANCREA / TICO / DUO /DENOSTOMY
Meaning: Surgical formation of an artificial opening connecting the pancreas to the duodenum.
34) Word: SEPTENQUINQUAGINTILLION (23 letters)
How to read: SEPTEN / QUINQUA / GIN / TILLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 174 zeros
35) Word: PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY (24 letters)
How to read: PSYCHO / NEURO / ENDOCRIN / OLOGY
Meaning: The branch of science concerned with the relationships among psychology, the nervous system, and the endocrine system.
36) Word: PARASKAVEDEKATRIAPHOBIA (23 letters)
How to read: PARASKA / VEDEKA / TRIA / PHOBIA
Meaning: Fear of Friday the 13th
37) Word: QUATTUORQUADRAGINTILLION (24 letters)
How to read: QUATTUOR / QUADRA / GIN / TILLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 135
38) Word: QUATTUORSEPTUAGINTILLION (24 letters)
How to read: QUATTUOR / SEPTUA / GIN / TILLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 225
39) Word: HYPERBETALIPOPROTEINEMIA (24 letters)
How to read: HYPER / BETA / LIPO / PROTEINEMIA
Meaning: The presence of excess LDLs in the blood
40) Word: QUATTUORQUINQUAGINTILLION (25 letters)
How to read: QUATTUOR / QUINQUA / GIN / TILLION
Meaning: The number 1 followed by 165 zeros
How to Read Long Words in English
41) Word: ESOPHAGOGASTROANASTOMOSIS (25 letters)
How to read: ESO / PHAGO / GASTRO / ANASTOMOSIS
Meaning: An anastomosis between esophagus and the stomach
42) Word: HEMANGIOENDOTHELIOSARCOMA (25 letters)
How to read: HEMANGIO / ENDO / THELIO / SARCOMA
Meaning: The name given to a type of tumour
43) Word: LIPOMUCOPOLYSACCHARIDOSIS (25 letters)
How to read: LIPO / MUCO / POLY / SACCHARIDOSIS
Meaning: A kind of disease
44) Word: IMMUNOELECTROPHORETICALLY (25 letters)
How to read: IMMUNO / ELECTRO / PHORETI / CALLY
Meaning: As regards or by means of electrophoresis
45) Word: PHILOSOPHICOPSYCHOLOGICAL (25 letters)
How to read: PHILO / SOPHICO / PSYCHO / LOGICAL
Meaning: Pertaining to that which is both philosophical and psychological
46) Word: ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIAN (25 letters)
How to read: ANTI / DIS / ESTABLISHMENT / ARIAN
Meaning: One who believes that the Church of England should retain its formal constitutional relationship with the State.
47) Word: URETEROTRIGONOENTEROSTOMY (25 letters)
How to read: URETERO / TRIGONO / ENTER / OSTOMY
Meaning: Implantation of a ureter and its portion of the trigone of the bladder into the intestine.
48) Word: SYNGENESIOTRANSPLANTATION (25 letters)
How to read: SYN / GENESIO / TRANS / PLANTATION
Meaning: A graft of tissue between closely related individuals
49) Word: THYROPARATHYROIDECTOMIZED (25 letters)
How to read: THYRO / PARA / THYROID / ECTOMIZED
Meaning: Having undergone surgical removal of the thyroid and parathyroid gland
50) Word: GASTROJEJUNOESOPHAGOSTOMY: (25 letters)
How to read: GASTRO / JEJUNO / ESOPHAG / OSTOMY
Meaning: Gastroesophageal reflux
How to Read Long Words in English
51) Word: SPECTROHELIOKINEMATOGRAPH: (25 letters)
How to read: SPECTRO / HELIO / KINEMATO / GRAPH
Meaning: Camera for taking pictures of the sun
52) Word: ANHYDROHYDROXYPROGESTERONE (26 letters)
How to read: ANHYDRO / HYDROXY / PROGESTERONE
Meaning: A synthetic crystalline female sex hormone
53) Word: CYSTOURETEROPYELONEPHRITIS (26 letters)
How to read: CYSTO / URETERO / PYELO / NEPHRITIS
Meaning: A combined inflammation of the urinary bladder, ureters, and kidneys
54) Word: HEMANGIOENDOTHELIOBLASTOMA (26 letters)
How to read: HEMANGIO / ENDO / THELIO / BLASTOMA
Meaning: A kind of tumour
55) Word: IODOCHLOROHYDROXYQUINOLINE (26 letters)
How to read: IODO / CHLORO / HYDROXY / QUINOLINE
Meaning: The name of a medicine used for many types of skin diseases
56) Word: PNEUMOENCEPHALOGRAPHICALLY (26 letters)
How to read: PNEUMO / ENCEPHALO / GRAPHI / CALLY
Meaning: Relating to roentgenography of the brain after the injection of air into the ventricles.
57) Word: RADIOIMMUNOELECTROPHORESIS (26 letters)
How to read: RADIO / IMMUNO / ELECTRO / PHORESIS
Meaning: Immunoelectrophoresis using antigens or antibodies labelled with radioisotopes.
58) Word: ANTITRANSUBSTANTIATIONALIST (27 letters)
How to read: ANTI / TRAN / SUB / STANTIATIONAL / IST
Meaning: One who disagrees with the concept of or belief in the transubstantiation doctrine of the Catholic Church.
59) Word: ENCEPHALOMYELORADICULOPATHY (27 letters)
How to read: ENCEPHALO / MYELO / RADICULO / PATHY
Meaning: A disease involving the brain, spinal cord, and spinal nerve roots
60) Word: ETHYLENEDIAMINETETRAACETATE (27 letters)
How to read: ETHYLENE / DIAMINE / TETRA / ACETATE
Meaning: A salt of EDTA
How to Read Long Words in English
61) Word: HONORIFICABILITUDINITATIBUS (27 letters)
How to read: HONORIFI / CABILI / TUDI / NITATI / BUS
Meaning: 1) The state of being able to achieve honours
2) With honorableness (a nonsense word from medieval literature)
3) Honorableness (a nonsense word from medieval literature)
62) Word: HYDROXYDESOXYCORTICOSTERONE (27 letters)
How to read: HYDROXY / DESOXY / CORTICO / STERONE
Meaning: A crystalline steroid hormone
63) Word: PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGICAL (27 letters)
How to read: PSYCHO / NEURO / ENDO / CRINOLOGICAL
Meaning: Of or pertaining to psychoneuroendocrinology – the clinical study of hormone fluctuations and their relationship to human behavior.
64) Word: OCTAMETHYLPYROPHOSPHORAMIDE (27 letters)
How to read: OCTA / METHYL / PYRO / PHOSPHORAMIDE
Meaning: A type of insecticide
65) Word: SPECTROPHOTOFLUOROMETRICALLY (28 letters)
How to read: SPECTRO / PHOTO / FLUORO / METRICALLY
Meaning: Describing the use of a spectrophotofluorometer, an instrument that measures the amount of light given off in a color band to trace and measure tiny components of a sample of blood, body tissue or other substance.
66) Word: HEPATICOCHOLANGIOGASTROSTOMY (28 letters)
How to read: HEPATICO / CHOLANGIO / GASTROSTOMY
Meaning: To clear a blockage from the hepatic duct to ensure it functions properly
67) Word: ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM (28 letters)
How to read: ANTI /DIS / ESTABLISHMENT / ARIANISM
Meaning: A political philosophy opposed to the separation of a religious group (“church”) and a government (“state”), especially the belief held by those in 19th century England opposed to separating the Anglican Church from the civil government.
68) Word: FLOCCINAUCINIHILIPILIFICATION (29 letters)
How to read: FLOCCI / NAUCINI / HILIPI / LIFI / CATION
Meaning: The action or habit of estimating something as worthless
69) Word: POLIOENCEPHALOMENINGOMYELITIS (29 letters)
How to read: POLIO / ENCEPHALO / MENINGO / MYELITIS
Meaning: Inflammation of the grey matter of the brain and spinal cord and of the meningeal covering of the parts.
70) Word: TRINITROPHENYLMETHYLNITRAMINE (29 letters)
How to read: TRINITRO / PHENYL / METHYL / NITRAMINE
Meaning: A type of explosive
How to Read Long Words in English
71) Word: OCTYLPHENOXYPOLYETHOXYETHANOL (29 letters)
How to read: OCTYL / PHENOXY / POLY / ETHOXY / ETHANOL
Meaning: A process for producing a split influenza virus preparation
72) Word: HEXAKOSIOIHEXEKONTAHEXAPHOBIA (29 letters)
How to read: HEXA / KOSIOI / HEXEKONTA / HEXA / PHOBIA
Meaning: Fear of the number six hundred sixty-six
73) Word: EELLOGOFUSCIOUHIPOPPOKUNURIOUS (30 letters)
How to read: EELLOGO / FUSCIOU / HIPOPPO / KUNURIOUS
Meaning: Good
74) Word: PSEUDOPSEUDOHYPOPARATHYROIDISM (30 letters)
How to read: PSEUDO / PSEUDO / HYPO / PARA / THYROIDISM
Meaning: A mild inherited condition in which the sufferer has symptoms similar to those of pseudohypoparathyroidism.
75) Word: ENCEPHALOMYELORADICULONEURITIS (30 letters)
How to read: ENCEPHALO / MYELO / RADICULO / NEURITIS
Meaning: A syndrome of virus origin that is associated with encephalitis.
76) Word: HIPPOPOTOMONSTROSESQUIPEDALIAN (30 letters)
How to read: HIPPO / POTO / MONSTRO / SESQUI /PEDALIAN
Meaning: Pertaining to a very, very long word
77) Word: DICHLORODIPHENYLTRICHLOROETHANE (31 letters)
How to read: DICHLORO / DIPHENYL / TRICHLORO / ETHANE
Meaning: This is the expanded form of the familiar insecticide DDT
78) Word: ULTRAANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM (33 letters)
How to read: ULTRA / ANTI / DIS / ESTABLISHMENT / ARIANISM
Meaning: Extreme opposition to the withdrawal of state support from a church
79) Word: PSEUDOANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM (34 letters)
How to read: PSEUDO / ANTI / DIS / ESTABLISHMENT / ARIANISM
Meaning: False opposition to the withdrawal of state support from a church
80) Word: SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS (34 letters)
How to read: SUPER / CALI / FRAGI / LISTIC / EXPIA / LIDOCIOUS
Meaning: It means fantastic, wonderful, fabulous. (This word was used by the children in a song in the movie “Mary Poppins”)
How to Read Long Words in English
81) Word: HIPPOPOTOMONSTROSESQUIPPEDALIOPHOBIA (36letters)
How to read: HIPPO / POTO / MONSTRO / SESQUI / PPEDALIO / PHOBIA
Meaning: For a fear of the long word
82) Word: HEPATICOCHOLANGIOCHOLECYSTENTEROSTOMY (37 letters)
How to read: HEPATICO / CHOLANGIO / CHOLE / CYST / ENTER / OSTOMY
Meaning: Surgical creation of a connection between the gallbladder and a hepatic duct and between the intestine and the gallbladder.
83) Word: PRAETERTRANSSUBSTANTIATIONALISTICALLY (37 letters)
How to read: PRAETER / TRANS / SUB / STANTIATIONAL / ISTICALLY
Meaning: It means the act of surpassing the act of transubstantiation, which refers specifically to the transformation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ during the Roman Catholic mass
84) Word: VELOCIPEDESTRIANISTICALISTURIANOLOGIST (38 letters)
How to read: VELOCI / PEDESTRIA / NISTI / CALISTURIAN / OLOGIST
Meaning: One who performs daring or amusing acts on a bicycle. This word was coined by a British journalist named James Colly.
85) Word: TETRAMETHYLDIAMINOBENZHYDRYLPHOSPHINOUS (39 letters)
How to read: TETRA / METHYL / DIAMINO / BENZHYDRYL / PHOSPHINOUS
Meaning: A type of acid
86) Word: HEPATICOCHOLECYSTOSTCHOLECYSTENTEROSTOMY (40 letters)
How to read: HEPATICO / CHOLE / CYSTOST / CHOLE / CYST / ENTERO / STOMY
Meaning: The surgical formation of a passage between the gall bladder and hepatic duct, on the one hand, and between the intestine and the gall bladder, on the other.
87) Word: PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS (45 letters)
How to read: PNEUMONO / ULTRA / MICRO / SCOPIC / SILICO / VOLCANO / CONIOSIS
Meaning: A lung disease caused by inhaling sand, ash or quartz; also known as silicosis.
88) Word: OSSEOCARNISANGUINEOVISCERICARTILAGININERVOMEDULLARY (51 letters)
How to read: OSSEO / CARNI / SANGUINEO / VISCERICARTI / LAGINI / NERVO / MEDULLARY
Meaning: Created by English novelist Thomas Love Peacock (1785-1866) and used in his novel Headlong Hall. It’s a description of the structure of the human body.
89) Word:
AEQUEOSALINOCALCALINOCERACEOALUMINOSOCUPREOVITRIOLIC (52 letters)
How to read: AEQUEO / SALINO / CALCALINO / CERACEO / ALUMINO / SOCUPREO / VITRIOLIC
Meaning: This term was created by Dr. Edward Strother, an English medical writer (1675-1737) to describe the spa waters at Bristol, England.
90) Word:
DIISOBUTYLPHENOXYETHOXYETHYLDIMETHYLBENZYLAMMONIUMCHLORIDE
(58 letters)
How to read: DI / ISOBUTYL / PHENOXY / ETHOXY / ETHYL / DIMETHYL / BENZYL
/ AMMONIUM / CHLORIDE
Meaning: It is the name of a medicine. This word was first published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
How to Read Long Words in English
91) Word:
LOPADOTEMACHOSELACHOGALEOKRANIOLEIPSANODRIMHYPO
TRIMMATOSILPHIOPARAOMELITOKATAKECHYMENOKICHLEPIKOSSYPHOPHATTO
PERISTERALEKTRYONOPTEKEPHALLIOKIGKLOPELEIOLAGOIOSIRAIOBAPHETRAGANO
PTERYGON (182 letters)
How to read: LOPADO / TEMACHOSELACHO / GALEO / KRANIO / LEIPSANO / DRIMHYPO / TRIMMATO / SILPHIO / PARAO / MELITO / KATAKECHYMENO / KICHLEPIKOSSYPHO / PHATTO / PERISTERALEKTRYO / NOPTEKEPHALLIO / KIGKLO / PELEIO / LAGOIO / SIRAIO /
BAPHETRAGANO / PTERYGON
Meaning: It is a fictional dish mentioned in Aristophanes’ comedy Assemblywomen. This is the English transliteration of a Greek word that appears in Aristophanes’ play The Ecclesiazusae. The Greek word has 172 letters and 78 syllables. The transliteration has 182 characters. It is the longest word ever to appear in literature according to the Guinness Book of World Records (1990).
And finally, find out ……
What is the longest word in English?
two more long words which are very difficult to pronounce…….,
METHIONYLGLUTAMINYLARGINYLTYROSYLGLUTAMYL…………..SERINE (1,909 letters)
Longest Published Word (Not provided full word)
METHIONYLTHREONYLTHREONYLGLUTAMINYLALANYL………….ISOLEUCINE
(189,819 letters) (Not provided full word)
It is a chemical name for the human protein – titin. This is the world longest word which
contains 189,819 letters exactly and takes about three-and-a-half hours to read completely.
List of 10 long words of 100-letters created by James Joyce
Here are 10 words that contain 100 letters in each coined and used in a famous novel
Finnegans Wake by an eminent writer James Joyce. These words appear on different
pages of the novel and are symbolic of a thunderclap representing the fall of Adam and Eve.
Thunderword #1 from page 1 of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake
92) Word:
BABABADALGHARAGHTAKAMMINARRONNKONNBRONNTONNERRONN
TUONNTHUNNTROVARRHOUNAWNSKAWNTOOHOOHOORDENEN
THURNUK (100 letters)
How to read:
BABABADAL / GHARAGHTA / KAMMINARRONNKONN / BRONN / TONNERRONN / TUONN / THUNN / TROVARR / HOUNAWNSKAWN / TOOHOOHOORDENEN / THURNUK
Thunderword #2 from page 23 of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake
93) Word:
PERKODHUSKURUNBARGGRUAUYAGOKGORLAYORGROMGREMMIT
GHUNDHURTHRUMATHUNARADIDILLIFAITITILLI BUMULLUNUKKUNUN (100 letters)
How to read:
PERKODHUS / KURUN / BARGGRUAUYA / GOKGORLAYOR / GROMGREMMIT / GHUNDHUR / THRUMA / THUNA / RADIDILLI / FAITITILLI / BUMULLUN / UKKUNUN
Thunderword #3 from page 44 of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake
94) Word: KLIKKAKLAKKAKLASKAKLOPATZKLATSCHABATTACREPPYCROTTY
GRADGHSEMMIHSAMMIHNOUITHAPPLUDDYAPPLADDYPKONPKOT (100 letters)
How to read:
KLIKKAK / LAKKAK / LASKAKLOPATZ / KLATSCHA / BATTA / CREPPYCROTTY / GRADDAGH / SEMMIHSAMMIH / NOUITH / APPLUDDY / APPLADDY / PKONPKOT
Thunderword #4 from page 90 of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake
95) Word:
BLADYUGHFOULMOECKLENBURGWHURAWHORASCORTASTRUMPA
PORNANENNYKOCKSAPASTIPPATAPPATUPPERSTRIPPUCKPUTTANACH (100 letters)
How to read:
BLADYUGHFOUL / MOECKLENBURG / WHURA / WHORA / SCORTA / STRUMPA /
PORNA / NENNY / KOCKSAPAS / TIPPA / TAPPA / TUPPER / STRIPPUCK / PUTTANACH
Thunderword #5 from page 113 of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake
96) Word:
THINGCROOKLYEXINEVERYPASTURESIXDIXLIKENCEHIMAROUNDHERST
HEMAGGERBYKINKINKANKANWITHDOWNMINDLOOKINGATED (100 letters)
How to read:
THINGCROOKLY / EXINEVERYPASTURE / SIXDIXLIKENCE / HIMAROUNDHERS /
THEMAGGERBY / KINKINKANKAN / WITHDOWNMIND / LOOKINGATED
Thunderword #6 from page 257 of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake
97) Word:
LUKKEDOERENDUNANDURRASKEWDYLOOSHOOFERMOYPORTER
TOORYZOOYSPHALNABORTANSPORTHAOKANSAKROIDVERJKAPAKKAPUK (100 letters)
How to read:
LUKKEDOEREN / DUNANDURRAS / KEWDYLOO SHOO / FERMOYPORTER /
TOORYZOOY / SPHALNABORTAN / SPORTHAOKAN / SAKROIDVERJ / KAPAKKAPUK
Thunderword #7 from page 314 of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake
98) Word:
BOTHALLCHORACTORSCHUMMINAROUNDGANSUMUM
INARUMDRUMSTRUMTRUMINAHUMPTADUMPWAULTOPOOFOOLOODERAMAUNS
TURNP (100 letters)
How to read:
BOTH ALL CHORACTORS CHUMM / IN A ROUND GANSUMUM / IN A RUM DRUM STRUM TRUM / IN A HUMPTADUMP / WAUL TOPOOFOO / LOODERAMAUNS / TURN UP
Thunderword #8 from page 332 of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake
99) Word:
PAPPAPPAPPARRASSANNUARAGHEALLACHNATULLAGHMONGANMACMACMAC
WHACKFALLTHERDEBBLENONTHEDUBBLANDADDYDOODLED (100 letters)
How to read:
PAPPAPPAPPARRASS / ANNUARAGHEALLACH / NATULLAGHMONGAN / MACMACMAC / WHACKFALLTHERDEBBLE / NONTHEDUBBLAN DADDYDOODLED
Thunderword #9 from page 414 of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake
100) Word:
HUSSTENHASSTENCAFFINCOFFINTUSSEMTOSSEMDAMANDAMNACOSAGHCUSAGH
HOBIXHATOUXPESWCHBECHOSCASHLCARCARCARACT (100 letters)
How to read:
HUSSTENHASSTEN / CAFFINCOFFIN / TUSSEMTOSSEM / DAMANDAMNA / COSAGHCUSAGH / HOBIXHATOUX / PESWCHBECHOS / CASHLCARCARCARACT
Thunderword #10 from page 424 of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake
101) Word:
ULLHODTURDENWEIRMUDGAARDGRINGNIRURDRMOLNIRFENRIR
LUKKILOKKIBAUGIMANDODRRERINSURTKRINMGERNRACKINAROCKAR (100 letters)
How to read:
ULLHOD / TURDENWEIR / MUDGAARD / GRINGNIR / URDR / MOLNIR / FENRIR / LUKKILOKKI / BAUGIMAND / ODRRERIN / SURTKRINMGERN / RACKINAROCKAR
How to Read Long Words in English
List of 20 long names of the places (23 letters to 85 letters Long Words)
102) NIZHNENOVOKUTLUMBETYEVO (23 letters)
It is a village name in Matveyevsky District, Orenburg Oblast, Russia. The word comes from
Russian In Cyrillic Alphabet which means “The lower new settlement named after Kutlumbet
(a Turkic male personal name)”.
103) NUNATHLOOGAGAMIUTBINGOI (23 letters)
It is the name of a beach on the southeastern coast of Nunivak Island in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. It is written in Nunivak Cup’ig language.
104) ONAFHANKELIJKHEIDSPLEIN (23 letters)
It is a town square in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. The square is situated in the historical inner city, near the Suriname River and the presidential palace. The word has been coined from the Dutch Language which means “Independence Square”
105) KVERNBERGSUNDSØDEGÅRDEN (23 letters)
It is located in Ringerike, Buskerud, Norway. This word comes from the Language Norwegian and it means “The Deserted Farm of The Mill Mountain Strait”
106) SVALBARÐSSTRANDARHREPPUR (24 letters)
It is the name of a municipality located in northern-central Iceland, in the Northeastern Region. The word comes from the Icelandic language and it means “Cool Edge’s Shore’s Municipality“.
107) VERKHNENOVOKUTLUMBETYEVO (24 letters)
It is the name of a village in Orenburg Oblast, Russia. The word comes from the Russian Language which means “The upper new settlement named after Kutlumbet (a Turkic male personal name)”
108) STARONIZHESTEBLIYEVSKAYA (24 letters)
It is a village in the Krasnoarmeysky district of the Krasnodar Krai Territory, Russia. This word has been coined from Russian In Cyrillic Alphabet which means “The old settlement named after Nizhne-Stebliyevskiy kurin (of Zaporizhian Sich)”.
109) BULLAUNANCHEATHRAIRALUINN (25 letters)
Name of a village – bullaun in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. This word comes from the Anglicisation of Irish meaning “Bullaun of the Four Beauties”.
110) GASSELTERBOERVEENSCHEMOND (25 letters)
It is a hamlet in the Dutch province of Drenthe, Netherlands. This word comes from the Dutch Language meaning “Delta of Gasselt’s (surname) farmer’s bog”.
111) MAMUNGKUKUMPURANGKUNTJUNYA (26 letters)
It is a hill in South Australia, Australia. The name means “where the devil urinates” in the regional Pitjantjatjara Language.
112) SCHMEDESWURTHERWESTERDEICH (26 letters)
It is a hamlet outside the village of Schmedeswurth, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. This word comes from the German Language which means “West levee of the smith’s hill-village”.
113) BOVENENDVANKEELAFSNYSLEEGTE (27 letters)
It is a farm located in the Upper Karoo in Northern Cape, South Africa. Its name is in Afrikaans and means “Upper end of the throat-cut valley”.
114) VENKATANARASIMHARAJUVARIPETA (28letters)
It is the name of a railway station in Andhra Pradesh on the border with Tamil Nadu. It is considered the longest one-word place name in India.
115) PEKWACHNAMAYKOSKWASKWAYPINWANIK (31 letters)
It is the name of a lake in Manitoba, Canada. The word has come from the Cree Language which means “where the wild trout are caught by fishing with hooks”.
116) ÄTERITSIPUTERITSIPUOLILAUTATSIJÄNKÄ (35letters)
It is a bog (wetland) region in Savukoski, Lapland in Finland. It is the longest place name in Finland, and also the second-longest in Europe.
117) AZPILICUETAGARAYCOSAROYARENBERECOLARREA (39 letters)
A place name in Azpilkueta, Navarra, Spain. This name has been coined from the Basque Language which means “The low field of the high pen of Azpilikueta”.
118) TWEEBUFFELSMETEENSKOOTMORSDOODGESKIETFONTEIN (44 letters)
It is the name of a farm in the North West province of South Africa. This is the word is coined from the Afrikaans Language which means “Two-Buffalos-With-One-Shot-Completely-Dead-Shot-Fountain”.
119) CHARGOGGAGOGGMANCHAUGGAGOGGCHAUBUNAGUNGAMAUGG (45 letters)
This is the name of a lake in Webster, Massachusetts, United States. This word has been coined from the Language Nipmuc which means “Fishing Place at the Boundaries – Neutral Meeting Grounds”.
120) LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROBWLLLLANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH (58 letters)
This is the name of a large community of villages in Wales found on the Islands of Anglesey. This word has been coined from the language Welsh which means “Saint Mary’s Church in a hollow of white hazel near the rapid whirlpool of the church of Saint Tysilio with a red cave”.
121) TAUMATAWHAKATANGIHANGAKOAUAUOTAMATEATURIPUKAKAPIKIMAUNGA
HORONUKUPOKAIWHENUAKITANATAHU (85 letters)
It is the name of a hill near Porangahau, south of Waipukurau in southern Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. This hill is 305 metres tall and gained worldwide significance as the longest name which has been coined in the Maori language. It has been translated to mean “The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one”. This hill has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest official place name in the world.
Idioms in English
The Reduplicatives in English
One word substitutions in English
Wedding Anniversaries
Mania Words in English
List of Common Phobias in English
Binomials in English
Blend words in English
Figures of Speech in English
Palindromes in the English Language
Pangrams in the English Language
Spoonerisms in the English Language
Vowel Words in English
According to the 20th volume of the Oxford English Dictionary, there are a total of 171,476 words in current use. With this number of words, your mind will begin to imagine which words are the longest and how many letters they have. Well, you needn’t wonder anymore, this article has got you covered.
A very high percentage of the longest words in English are medicine and chemistry terminologies. However, you will not find some of them in the dictionary as space is an essential constraint of a dictionary.
For example, the longest word in the English language is METHIONYLTHREONYLTHREONYGLUTAMINYLARGINYL…ISOLEUCINE which is the full chemical name for the human protein titin. The word has 189,819 letters, taking about three-and-a-half hours to pronounce. The problem with including chemical names in the dictionary is that there is no limit to how long it can be.
In the same light, the longest word to ever appear in the literature is from Assemblywomen, a play by Aristophanes published in 391 BC. LOPADOTEMACHOSELACHOGALEOKRANIOLEIPSAN…PTERYGON is a Greek word that has a total of 171 letters that translates to 183.
However, this article is focused on the longest English words in the dictionary. There are several lengthy words in the dictionary. Continue reading to appreciate a few of them.
This is the longest word in the dictionary, with a total of forty-five letters. Also, it has 19 syllables which divides as pneu-mo-no-ul-tra-mi-cro-scop-ic-sil-i-co-vol-ca-no-co-ni-o-sis.
The forty-five-letter word is a noun that refers to a lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica, quartz dust, very fine ash or sand dust found in volcanoes.
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis was invented in the 1930s during the annual meeting of the National Puzzlers’ League (N.P.L.) by Everett M. Smith (the president). The word was coined in imitation of very long medical terms. The 45-letter word is a synonym for the disease known as silicosis.
Additionally, it first appeared in the supplement to the Merriam-Webster New International Dictionary in the year 1939.
The second position on the list is Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, with a total of thirty-six letters. Plus, it has 15 syllables which divides into hip-po-pot-o-mon-stro-ses-quip-ped-al-i-o-pho-bi-a.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is a noun that refers to the fear of long words. Isn’t it ironic that the word that means the fear of long words is actually one of the longest words in the dictionary?
Additionally, the prefix hippopoto- and monstro- which alludes to hippopotamus and monsters, were only added to the word to blow the word out of proportion. You don’t necessarily need them for the meaning. The word’s true meaning comes for the Latin word sesquipedalis, which means a foot and a half long and the word phobia, meaning an irrational fear.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is the third-longest word in the English language, having a total of thirty-four letters. However, it is not a word that appears in all dictionary, only a few. Plus, it has 14 syllables which divides into su-per-cal-i-frag-i-lis-tic-ex-pi-al-i-do-cious.
The thirty-four-letter word is an adjective that means extraordinarily good or wonderful. However, the oxford dictionary defines the word as a nonsense word typically used by children to express excited approbation.
If you ever watched Mary Poppins (the 1964 film) as a child, you might remember supercalifragilisticexpialidocious as first used by Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins described it as a word to use when you have nothing to say.
This is the fourth-longest word in the dictionary, and the longest non-coined word in the English language with a total of thirty letters is pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism. The thirty-letter word has 11 syllables, which divide into Pseu-do-pseu-do-hy-po-pa-ra-thy-roid-ism.
Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism, which is often abbreviated as PPHP, is a noun that refers to the condition that causes the soft tissues and joints in the body to harden, leading to a round face, short stature and short hand bones. This condition is often inherited
Pseudo means false or fake. The word consists of the word pseudo twice because the disorder stimulates the peculiar symptoms of pseudohypoparathyroidism, whereby the body does not respond to the parathyroid hormone. This shows two-level of faking it or falseness going on.
The fifth on the list is Floccinaucinihilipilification coming with a total of twenty-nine letters. Floccinaucinihilipilification has 12 syllables which divides into floc-ci-nau-ci-ni-hil-i-pil-i-fi-ca-tion.
Floccinaucinihilipilification is a noun that refers to the action or habit of estimating something as worthless or valueless. It is mostly never used except in a list of the longest words in the English language. However, when it is used, it is often in reference to itself.
The twenty-nine letter word dates back to the mid-18th century having Latin roots. It is made up of the Latin words flocci, nauci, nihili, and pili, which means little value. The first recorded use of Floccinaucinihilipilification was in a letter by William Shenstone in 1741.
Following closely on the list is Antidisestablishmentarianism, with a total of twenty-eight letters. Antidisestablishmentarianism is pronounced in 12 syllables which divides into an-ti-dis-es-tab-lish-ment-ar-i-an-is-m.
Antidisestablishmentarianism originally referred to the opposition of the Church of England’s disestablishment and the advocacy that the church should continue to receive government patronage. However, it is now being used to describe any opposition to withdrawing government support from religions or churches.
Also, in 1838, Antidisestablishmentarianism was first said by Weekley. The word was first recorded in Gladstone’s “Church and State. Furthermore, the twenty-eight-letter word, a prime example of a sesquipedalian word, is never really used today and was rarely used after it was formed.
Honorificabilitudinitatibus is the longest word in the dictionary that features only alternating consonants and vowels with 27 letters. Also, it has a total of 11 syllables, which divides into Hon-ori-fi-ca-bi-li-tu-dini-tat-i-bus.
Honorificabilitudinitatibus is a noun that means the state of being able to achieve honours. Also, it is the ablative and dative plural of the Latin word honorificabilitudinitas. The twenty-seven letters only appeared only once in Shakespeare’s works (Love’s Labour’s Lost).
Coming eighth on the list is incomprehensibilities with a total of twenty-one letters. The pronunciation of Incomprehensibilities comes in 8 syllables, which divides into in-com-pri-hen-si-bi-li-ties.
Incomprehensibilities is a noun that refers to the things that are impossible to understand or comprehend; it could also mean unintelligible.
The word was derived in Middle English from the Latin word incomprehēnsibilis; it was first recorded sometime in the early 1300s. Also, during the 1990s, the word was named the longest word in common usage.
With 20 letters words, the next letter is uncharacteristically. The pronunciation of the word comes in 8 syllables, which divides into un-char-ac-ter-is-ti-ca-lly.
Uncharacteristically, it is an adverb that means performing an action in a way that is not typical for a person or thing. The first known use of uncharacteristically was in 1748.
Isograms are words that have no repeated letters in their spellings; there are several isograms in the English dictionary. The longest isogram is subdermatoglyphic, with a total of 17 letters. However, subdermatoglyphic is not included in the dictionary; that is why it is not part of this list.
On the other hand, the next longest isogram is uncopyrightable, which is a word included in the English dictionary, has a total of 15 letters. Plus, it has six syllables that break down into un-co-py-righ-ta-ble.
Uncopyrightable is an adjective that means not allowed to or not able to be protected by copyright, the first known use of the word was in 1926.
It should come as no surprise that we are word lovers. In fact, we are big word lovers in that we love really big words. To express our love, we looked around for some of the biggest, most ludicrously long words in the English language. In addition to pure length, we also tried to find:
- the longest word without vowels
- the longest one-syllable word
- and other uniquely long words.
Figuring out which word is the longest of them all isn’t as simple as just counting letters, though. Should you count scientific words? Should obscure, rarely used words be included, or should we give the honor to a word people actually use? In the interest of fairness, our list includes scientific words, obscure words, and all of the absurdly long words stuck in between.
methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl…
At over 180,000 letters long, the chemical name of the protein titin is often said to technically be the longest English word. If spoken out loud, this word takes over three hours to say! Its absurd length is due to the fact that proteins get their scientific names by combining the names of all of their joined amino acids together, and titin has quite a lot of them. For obvious reasons, titin’s official name has never actually appeared in a dictionary or scientific text. Because it is a scientific term, many would disqualify the Big M from actually taking the crown as English’s longest word.
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, coming in at 45 letters long, is typically the biggest word you will find that actually appears in an English dictionary. According to many sources, it was coined around 1935 by Everett Smith, who at the time was the president of the National Puzzlers’ League. The word, which was basically engineered for its length, refers to a lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust.
sesquipedalianism
Let’s look at a word related to the business of “longest words.” Sesquipedalianism is the tendency to use long words. Do you have sesquipedalian tendencies? (We do.)
The word is traced to the ancient Roman poet Horace, who in a treatise on the art of poetry wrote that in certain circumstances, poets must avoid sesquipedalia verba, a Latin phrase meaning “words [verba] a foot and a half long [sesquipedalia].” Horace clearly had a sense of humor.
pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
We include pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism, another medical term, because this is one of the longest words to appear in major dictionaries that wasn’t created with length in mind. Pseudo- is a combining form meaning “false, pretended, unreal.”
You might notice the appearance of pseudo- twice. That’s because this disorder simulates the symptoms of pseudohypoparathyroidism, in which the body doesn’t respond to the parathyroid hormone. So, there are two levels of “faking it” going on here.
English isn’t the only language with lengthy elements of its lexicon. Get to know some of the world’s longest words!
antidisestablishmentarianism
Often, people will bust out antidisestablishmentarianism as the longest word they know and are actually able to say. This word has rarely been used and is only mentioned due to its ridiculous length. This word refers to opposition to withdrawing support from the Anglican Church as the state church of 19th-century England.
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Even though the sound if it is something quite atrocious, we do really like the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. This nonsensical word with no real meaning was popularized by the 1964 Disney film Mary Poppins and is often used by children as an example of a humorously long word. Songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman take credit for this exact spelling of the word, but the word itself existed even before Mary Poppins made it popular.
floccinaucinihilipilification
Here’s one that is also very meta: floccinaucinihilipilification is a rarely used word that means “the estimation of something as valueless.” It is usually used in reference to itself! Dating back to the 1700s, the word contains four Latin roots that all mean “of little value” or “trifling”: floccī, naucī, nihilī, and pilī.
honorificabilitudinitatibus
The word honorificabilitudinitatibus, which is said to mean “capable of receiving honor,” has two major honors to its name. Firstly, it is the longest word to ever appear in the works of William Shakespeare. Billy the Bard only ever used it once, in his play Love’s Labour’s Lost (1590s). Secondly, honorificabilitudinitatibus is the longest English word wherein the consonants and vowels alternate back and forth. Check it again if you didn’t notice!
uncharacteristically
Uncharacteristically for most of the really long words you’ve seen so far, the word uncharacteristically is often said to be the longest word that the average English speaker will commonly see or actually use in everyday life. As you may already know, uncharacteristically is an adverb that describes something as not being typical or acting in a characteristic manner.
incomprehensibilities
At 21 characters, another one of the longest words you might actually use yourself is incomprehensibilities. We define incomprehensible as “impossible to comprehend or understand,” so incomprehensibilities are “things you can’t comprehend.” ¿Comprendes?
uncopyrightables
If you look closely at the spelling, you’ll notice a peculiar thing about this word with 16 letters. It does not repeat any letter; each character is used only once. This word is sometimes called an isogram among lovers of words and word games.
One of the longest isograms is subdermatoglyphic, at 17 characters. But, since subdermatoglyphic (dermatoglyphics studies the patterns of skin markings on the hands and feet) is a bit scientific and certainly not one that is used often, we’re spotlighting uncopyrightables instead because it’s one we can all remember. It means, of course, “items that are unable to be copyrighted.”
rhythms
The word rhythms may not look like much at only seven letters long, but it is said to be the longest English word without one of the five main vowels in it. The letter Y, that wishy-washy “sometimes vowel,” is filling in while A, E, I, O, and U are taking a break. As we all know, the word rhythms means “movements or procedures with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat, accent, or the like.”
Are there really words without vowels? Depending on the definition, the answer might elicit a hmm.
strengths
Strengths is another smaller word with a big achievement under its belt. It is the longest English word with only a single vowel in it. Considering it is only eight letters long, that really shows you how much we value our vowels. The plural strengths is most often used to mean “positive or valuable attributes or qualities.”
squirrelled
We go nuts for this word. While the word squirreled usually only has one L in American English, some dictionaries accept this British English version as an alternate spelling. Some Americans pronounce the word squirrelled as a one-syllable word (rhyming with “curled”). This makes squirrelled the longest one-syllable word in the English language at 11 letters. If all of that sounds too squirrely for you, the one-syllable verb broughammed from the noun brougham, a type of carriage, is also 11 letters long.
As an aside, some may tell you that the word schtroumpfed is actually the longest “English” word with only a single syllable. This word has been used in some translations of The Smurfs (which is Les Schtroumpfs in French) in place of the more commonly used nonsensical verb smurfed. In our opinion, claiming schtroumpfed is the longest one-syllable word is just a bunch of smurf.
Aegilops
Aegilops sounds like the name of a mythical monster, but it is actually the name of a genus of wild grasses commonly known as goatgrass. In addition to that, Aegilops is also commonly said to be the longest English word that has all of the letters in alphabetical order.
Indulge your inner sesquipedalian and take the quiz!
Think you’re ready to ace our longest English words quiz? Or is it a long shot? It won’t be long before you find out. Remember that a little practice goes a long way!