The longest word or name in the

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

  1. ^ «Reading The Longest English Word (190,000 Characters)». YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  2. ^ «World’s longest word takes 3.5 hours to pronounce». CW39 Houston. 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  3. ^ a b Colista Moore (2011). Student’s Dictionary. p. 524. ISBN 978-1-934669-21-1.
  4. ^ see separate article Lopado…pterygon
  5. ^ Donald McFarlan; Norris Dewar McWhirter; David A. Boeh (1989). Guinness book of world records: 1990. Sterling. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-8069-5790-6.
  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.
  7. ^ «Merriam Webster: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious».
  8. ^ «What is the longest English word?». AskOxford. Archived from the original on 2008-10-22. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  9. ^ «What is the longest English word?». oxforddictionaries.com.[dead link]
  10. ^ «Merriam Webster: «Antidisestablishmentarianism is not in the dictionary.»«.
  11. ^ «Cool, Strange, and Interesting Facts,» fact 99. InnocentEnglish.com. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  12. ^ «pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis – definition of pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis in English from the Oxford dictionary». oxforddictionaries.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19.
  13. ^ «The Longest Word in the Dictionary» (Video). Ask the Editor. Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  14. ^ «Floccinaucinihilipilification» by Michael Quinion World Wide Words Archived 2006-08-21 at the Wayback Machine;
  15. ^ 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
  16. ^ 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.»
  17. ^ Eckler, R. Making the Alphabet Dance, p 252, 1996.
  18. ^ «Longest Common Words – Modern». Maltron.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  19. ^ «Glossary of W3C Jargon». World Wide Web Consortium. Archived from the original on 2008-10-25. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  20. ^ «Origin of the Abbreviation I18n». Archived from the original on 2014-06-27.
  21. ^ «Localization vs. Internationalization». World Wide Web Consortium. Archived from the original on 2016-04-03.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ Chemical Abstracts Formula Index, Jan.-June 1964, Page 967F; Chemical Abstracts 7th Coll. Formulas, C23H32-Z, 56-65, 1962–1966, Page 6717F
  24. ^ «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.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ cited in some editions of the Guinness Book of Records as the longest word in English, see Askoxford.com on the longest English word
  27. ^ [1][dead link]
  28. ^ «GeoNames Government of Canada site». Archived from the original on 2009-02-06.
  29. ^ Belluck, Pam (2004-11-20). «What’s the Name of That Lake? It’s Hard to Say». The New York Times.
  30. ^ «Geoscience Australia Gazetteer». Archived from the original on 2007-10-01.
  31. ^ «South Australian State Gazetteer». Archived from the original on 2007-10-01.
  32. ^ «Guinness Records».
  33. ^ «Longest Word Without Repeating Letters». December 2014.
  34. ^ a b c «Typewriter Words». Questrel.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  35. ^ «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.
  36. ^ «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.
  37. ^ «Word Records». Fun-with-words.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-26. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  38. ^ «Typewriter Words». Wordnik.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  39. ^ «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 in the world

The top five longest words in the world

10.03.2022

Business News

Did you know that the longest word in the world contains 190,000 letters? The following  is our list of the five longest words in the world:

  1. An English word of 189, 819 letters 

The longest word in the world is the English term: «methionylthreonylthreonyl(…)isoleucine».

This term, which has no less than 189, 819 letters, is the chemical name of the largest protein: titin. It would take three hours to recite it from beginning to end! 

  1. A Sanskrit word of 195 characters

निरन्तरान्धकारित-दिगन्तर-कन्दलदमन्द-सुधारस-बिन्दु-सान्द्रतर-घनाघन-वृन्द-सन्देहकर-स्यन्दमान-मकरन्द-बिन्दु-बन्धुरतर-माकन्द-तरु-कुल-तल्प-कल्प-मृदुल-सिकता-जाल-जटिल-मूल-तल-मरुवक-मिलदलघु-लघु-लय-कलित-रमणीय-पानीय-शालिका-बालिका-करार-विन्द-गलन्तिका-गलदेला-लवङ्ग-पाटल-घनसार-कस्तूरिकातिसौरभ-मेदुर-लघुतर-मधुर-शीतलतर-सलिलधारा-तदीय-विमल-विलोचन-मयूख-रेखापसारित-पिपासायास-पथिक-लोकान् 

The second longest word in the world is a 195-character Sanskrit word (equivalent to 428 letters in the Latin alphabet).

It is a word that has been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest word in the world. It first appeared in the 16th century in a book written by Queen Tirumalãmbã, and is actually a description of a region in India called Tamil Nadu.

  1. An Afrikaans word of 136 letters

The third longest word is this 136-letter Afrikaans word:

«Tweedehandsemotorverkoopsmannevakbondstakingsvergaderingsameroeperstoespra-akskrywerspersverklaringuitreikingsmediakonferensieaankondiging”

Roughly translated, it means ‘a press conference on a speech by a trade union official at a used car dealership about a strike’.

Afrikaans is a Germanic language derived from Dutch, and is one of the eleven official languages of South Africa.

  1. A New Zealand word with 85 letters

This is the fourth longest word in the world:

«Taumatawhakatangihangakoauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu”

This is actually the name of a hill in New Zealand. Its translation is: «The peak where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the surveyor, the mountain climber, the walker who travelled here, played his flute to his beloved

Consisting of 85 letters, this word is the longest place name in the world in the Latin alphabet. It has also been included in the Guinness Book of Records.

  1. An Icelandic word with 64 letters

«Vaðlaheiðarvegavinnuverkfærageymsluskúraútidyralyklakippuhringur»  

This Icelandic word of 64 letters is the fifth longest in the world. It is literally translated as follows: 

«A ring on a key ring for the outer door of the tool shed used by road maintenance workers on Vaðlaheiði hill.”

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Answers to your questions about the longest words in the world

The longest French word officially recognised by the Académie française is «anticonstitutionnellement», which consists of 25 letters. It is, in other words, the longest word in the French dictionary.

«Rinderkennzeichnungsfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz» is the longest word in the German language with 79 letters.

The longest English word is also the longest word in the world, with almost 190,000 letters. It is the chemical name for titin, the largest protein known. The longest word in the English dictionary however, is the 45-letter word «pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis», which refers to a lung disease. Doctors call it «P45».

About the author

The editorial team, led by the founder of the group Optilingua International, is made up of experts who specialise in language services. Our goal is to regularly provide you with articles related to translation and language services, which will help you with your language services’ needs.


Asked by: Delia Legros

Score: 4.4/5
(75 votes)

Major dictionaries

The longest word in any of the major English language dictionaries is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a word that refers to a lung disease contracted from the inhalation of very fine silica particles, specifically from a volcano; medically, it is the same as silicosis.

What is the full word of Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl?

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.

Which word takes 3 hours to say?

The word is 189,819 letters long. It’s actually the name of a giant protein called Titin. Proteins are usually named by mashing-up the names of the chemicals making them. And since Titin is the largest protein ever discovered, its name had to be equally as large.

Is there a word longer than Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis?

The longest words in the dictionary are: antidisestablishmentarianism — opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England — 28 letters. floccinaucinihilipilification — the estimation of something as worthless — 29 letters. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis — a supposed lung disease — 45 letters.

What is the number 1 longest word?

1 Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (forty-five letters) is lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica or quartz dust.

36 related questions found

Is there a word with 1000 letters?

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

It’s a technical word referring to the lung disease more commonly known as silicosis.

What is the shortest word?

Eunoia, at six letters long, is the shortest word in the English language that contains all five main vowels. Seven letter words with this property include adoulie, douleia, eucosia, eulogia, eunomia, eutopia, miaoued, moineau, sequoia, and suoidea. (The scientific name iouea is a genus of Cretaceous fossil sponges.)

What are the D words?

Some of the D words for kids are dig, door, date, drink, dinosaur, deer, desk, donkey, dart, deep, dance, duck, dip, dab, den, dad, dent, dock, dark, dust, etc.

What are hard words to spell?

Top 10 Hardest Words to Spell

  • Misspell.
  • Pharaoh.
  • Weird.
  • Intelligence.
  • Pronunciation.
  • Handkerchief.
  • logorrhea.
  • Chiaroscurist.

How do you spell Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis?

Also spelt pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis

noun | A lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silicate or quartz dust, causing inflammation in the lungs.

What’s the longest word in Japanese?

Language/Japanese/Vocabulary/Longest-word

A funny phrase in japanese is toragahitowokamoutosurutokinounarinow 虎が人を噛もうとするときのうなり声。 It is 37 letters long and is comprised of a 17 syllables. It is a very odd phrase, as it is defined as “the growl a tiger makes when it is about to about to bite someone”.

What are the most beautiful words?

The Top 10 Most Beautiful English Words

  • 3 Pluviophile (n.)
  • 4 Clinomania (n.) …
  • 5 Idyllic (adj.) …
  • 6 Aurora (n.) …
  • 7 Solitude (n.) …
  • 8 Supine (adj.) …
  • 9 Petrichor (n.) The pleasant, earthy smell after rain. …
  • 10 Serendipity (n.) The chance occurrence of events in a beneficial way. …

What word takes 3.5 hours to pronounce?

The longest word in English has 189,819 letters and would take you three and a half hours to pronounce correctly. Seriously. It’s the chemical name of Titin (or connectin), a giant protein «that functions as a molecular spring which is responsible for the passive elasticity of muscle.» You can listen to a guy…

What is the longest word with 1909 letters?

serine, a tryptophan synthetase protein, as the longest published word at 1,909 letters.

How is Eunoia pronounce?

Dr Francesco Perono Cacciafoco, research fellow at the Nanyang Technological University, from its school of humanities and social sciences, told The Straits Times on Thursday (Dec 31) that the correct pronunciation of «Eunoia» is «eh-yu-no-ya», with the stress on the first syllable.

What starts with the letter F?

words that begin with the Letter F

  • fish.
  • five.
  • flamingo.
  • flower.
  • fly.
  • four.
  • freedom.
  • frog.

What word starts with F?

  • fabs.
  • face.
  • fact.
  • fade.
  • fado.
  • fads.
  • faff.
  • fags.

What word starts with O?

8 letter words that start with O

  • oafishly.
  • oarlocks.
  • oatcakes.
  • oatmeals.
  • obduracy.
  • obdurate.
  • obedient.
  • obeisant.

What word has no vowels and no Y?

Words with no vowels. Cwm and crwth do not contain the letters a, e, i, o, u, or y, the usual vowels (that is, the usual symbols that stand for vowel sounds) in English. … Shh, psst, and hmm do not have vowels, either vowel symbols or vowel sounds. There is some controversy whether they are in fact “words,” however.

Is there a word with all 26 letters?

An English pangram is a sentence that contains all 26 letters of the English alphabet. The most well known English pangram is probably “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”. My favorite pangram is “Amazingly few discotheques provide jukeboxes.”

Do any words have no vowels?

Words without written vowels

There are very few lexical words (that is, not counting interjections) without vowel letters. The longest such lexical word is tsktsks, pronounced /ˌtɪskˈtɪsks/. The mathematical expression nth /ˈɛnθ/, as in delighted to the nth degree, is in fairly common usage.

Source: mosalingua

Do you ever look through a dictionary, marveling at the sheer length of some words? It’s easy to appreciate the complexity of the language and the diversity of the words used to express ourselves. Words can be incredibly powerful tools, and even the longest can carry a lot of meaning. That’s why we’ve decided to take a moment to appreciate some of the longest words in the world. 

This blog post will explore a list of the “20 longest words in the world.” So join us as we take a closer look at the length of language and celebrate the power of the written word!

Exploring longest words in the world: 20 examples

  1. Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylalanyl…isoleucine
  2. Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic
  3. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
  4. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
  5. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious 
  6. Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian
  7. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism 
  8. Floccinaucinihilipilification 
  9. Antidisestablishmentarianism 
  10. Spectrophotofluorometrically 
  11. Hepaticocholangiogastrostomy 
  12.  Psychoneuroendocrinological 
  13. Honorificabilitudinitatibus 
  14. Pneumoencephalographically 
  15. Thyroparathyroidectomized
  16. Otorhinolaryngological 
  17. Incomprehensibilities 
  18. Dermatoglyphics 
  19. Sesquipedalianism 
  20. Strengths

1. Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylalanyl…isoleucine (189,819 letters)

You know how you can see a word, and it makes you want to say it aloud? That’s what happened when we learned about the world’s longest word. It’s called “methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl…isoleucine,” 189,819 letters long.

This is a technical name for titin’s chemical composition. This word is long because titin is formed by 244 individual protein domains connected into one sequence. That’s almost three hours of speaking time. It’s so long that it doesn’t fit on paper! But we must keep trying: if we can pronounce it, maybe we’ll get a cool nickname like “Methi-Gnome” or “Methi-Gnomy.”

2. Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic (52 letters)

Source: Chegg

This tongue-twister of a word has 52 letters, making it one of the longest words in the English language. It is a technical term used to describe a particular type of acid found in certain rocks. The word was first coined in 1841 by the German mineralogist Friedrich August Rosenbusch.

The word is comprised of seven parts: Aequeo (meaning “equal”), Salino (“saline” or “salty”), Calculi (“lime” or “calcium”), Curacao (“waxy”), Aluminoso (“aluminum”), Cupreo (“copper”) and Vitriolic (“corrosive”). When put together, this lengthy word can be translated to mean “an equal saline-alkaline-waxy-aluminum-copper-corrosive acid.”

3. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters)

Source: Chegg

This long word is the scientific name for a lung disease known as silicosis or miners’ asthma. The word was coined in 1959 by Everett Chapman, an American physician and pathologist attempting to find a suitable name for the condition.

Despite being the most extended term in English and being included in the Oxford English Dictionary, it is rarely used outside the medical industry. The disease can be treated with medications, but once it has progressed, the only option is to avoid exposure to silica dust.

4. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (36 letters)

Source: Vowelor

If you’ve ever heard of a word that seemed so long and complex that you thought it was made up, you may have heard of the longest word in the English language. This 36-letter monstrosity is known as Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia and is defined as “the fear of long words.” The root of this word can be broken down into four parts: ‘hippopotamus,’ ‘a monster,’ ‘equipment,’ and ‘fear.’

The word was first used in an article written in 1949, where the author referenced the term when talking about a man who had an irrational fear of big words.

5. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters)

This is arguably one of the most famous words in the world, made popular by the 1964 musical Mary Poppins. It’s a nonsense word that means “something to say when you have nothing to say.” Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters) is the longest word in the English language that doesn’t contain any repeating letters. It has become one of the most beloved words in the world and is often used in popular culture.

While it may seem like a strange and foreign word, it is a combination of several other words: “super-” (meaning “above” or “beyond”), “cali-” (from “calisthenics,” meaning “exercises”), “fragilistic-” (from “fragile,” meaning “breakable”), “expiali-” (from “expiation,” meaning “atonement”), and “docious” (from “dociousness,” meaning “teachable”). Together, these words create an impressive and unforgettable word that has come to signify something more than its parts. 

6. Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian (30 letters)

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian is an impressive word, standing at a whopping 30 letters long. It comes from the Greek “hippos,” meaning horse, “potamos” meaning river, “monstrōs” meaning monster; and “eskhein” meaning to equip or furnish. The word refers to something very long and complicated, such as a word or phrase.

In addition to being a great conversation starter, Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian has also seen some use in popular culture. In the animated film Monsters Inc., Roz uses the word to describe Mike’s name: “Mike Wazowski? That’s a mouthful – hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian!”

So, It’s sure to get a few laughs; of course, its lengthy length will undoubtedly turn a few heads.

7. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (30 letters)

Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is one of the longest words in the English language, measuring a whopping 30 letters in length. This medical term is used to describe a rare inherited condition that affects calcium levels in the body. 

The term pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is derived from the Greek roots “pseudo,” meaning false, “hypo,” meaning under or below, and “parathyroid,” which refers to the four small glands in the neck responsible for regulating calcium in the body. 

8. Floccinaucinihilipilification (29 letters)

Source: Chegg

This word first appeared in the late 18th century and is derived from Latin. It means ‘the estimation of something as worthless’ or ‘treating something as insignificant.’ 

Floccinaucinihilipilification is a perfect example of how long and complicated English words can be. Although it may appear intimidating at first, it can be broken down into more manageable parts, such as “flocci,” “nauci,” “nihili,” and “pilification.” Understanding the meaning of each part can help you to understand the entire word more quickly, and it can also help you to use the word in your writing.

9. Antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters)

It is one of the longest words in the English language, and you may be surprised by its meaning. Antidisestablishmentarianism means opposition to the withdrawal of government support or recognition of an established church or religion. 

The word comprises two parts: anti, meaning “against,” and disestablishmentarianism, which refers to dissolving an established church. The term was first used in the 16th century in England when Anglicans wanted to abolish the Church of England’s official status as the state religion. 

It is also an exciting example of how a single long word can be used to explain a complex idea.

10. Spectrophotofluorometrically (28 letters)

Source: Slideplayer

This impressive word first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1967. It is an adjective that refers to the measurement of light or radiation using a spectrophotofluorometer, a scientific device used for measuring the relative amounts of light absorbed and emitted by a substance. 

It’s quite a mouthful, and even the most ardent wordsmiths might struggle to pronounce it! But as complex as the word may sound, its meaning can be explained in just a few short sentences, making it much easier to appreciate its true beauty.

11. Hepaticocholangiogastrostomy (28 letters)

We’ve been amazed by the length of some words! Hepaticocholangiogastrostomy is one of them – 28 letters and counting. This medical term refers to a surgical procedure that connects the liver, bile ducts, and stomach.

To think that surgeons can perform these intricate procedures while saying this mouthful of a word out loud is simply incredible! The skill, precision, and finesse required are awe-inspiring and worthy of admiration.

12. Psychoneuroendocrinological (27 letters)

Psychoneuroendocrinological is a word that will make your jaw drop. At 27 letters, it’s one of the longest words in the world and is a fantastic feat for anyone to be able to say aloud with ease. It references a complex field of medicine that studies how hormones interact with mental and neurological processes. 

The complexity and technicalities behind this subject matter are impressive – understanding them requires expertise and skill. To think that experts can comprehend and work with such long words as psychoneuroendocrinological is simply awe-inspiring!

13. Honorificabilitudinitatibus (27 letters)

Source: Chegg

This is one of the longest words in the world and is derived from a line in William Shakespeare’s play Love’s Labour’s Lost. It is used to describe someone capable of achieving great honors. The word translates as “the state of being able to achieve honors.” This makes it a fitting way to describe someone capable of doing great things and making a name for themselves.

The word has been used in various forms throughout history, though its most famous use is as part of a line from Shakespeare’s work. The entire line reads: “Honorificabilitudinitatibus: O form of majesty!” This reflects the awe-inspiring power and influence someone of greatness can have.

14. Pneumoencephalographically (26 letters)

It’s astonishing to think that experts can master long words like pneumoencephalographically. With 26 letters, it is among the world’s longest and references a branch of medical science that looks into how hormones interact with mental and neurological activities. This understanding has enabled better diagnosis and treatment plans for physiological and psychological conditions.

Knowing the technicalities behind this subject matter requires skill, knowledge, and expertise – all highly admirable qualities. It certainly puts one in awe when we realize that professionals are capable of mastering such complex topics!

15. Thyroparathyroidectomized (25 letters)

Thyroparathyroidectomized has 25 letters and is used to describe the surgical removal of both the thyroid and parathyroid glands. It is commonly used to treat hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid gland.

Thyroparathyroidectomized is not only long but also complex, having numerous syllables that are difficult to pronounce. The word is derived from several different parts, including thyroid-, parathyroid-, and ectomy. The prefix thyro- means “about the thyroid”; the suffix -ectomy means “surgical removal”; and the root parathyroid- refers to the four parathyroid glands near the thyroid gland.

16. Otorhinolaryngological (22 letters)

With 22 letters, Otorhinolaryngological is one of the longest words in the world! This word is derived from the Greek words “oto” meaning ear, “rhino” meaning nose, “laryngo” meaning throat; and “logical” meaning science or study. It refers to the medical specialty concerned with problems of the ears, nose, and throat.

This is an incredibly specialized field of medicine that requires extensive knowledge and training to master. The name is also so long that most people don’t know how to pronounce it correctly! The correct pronunciation of this word is “oh-toh-ree-noh-luh-ring-goh-lij-ik-uhl.”

17. Incomprehensibilities (21 letters)

Incomprehensibilities is one of the longest words in the English language, with 21 letters. It means “the state or quality of being incomprehensible” or “something that cannot be understood.” It is derived from the Latin word incomprehensibilis, which comes from the prefix in-, meaning “not,” and comprehensibilis meaning “able to be comprehended.”

Incomprehensibilities has become quite popular in recent years, especially with those who are looking for long words to challenge their friends and colleagues. It is often used in scrabble games, other word puzzles, online forums, and chat rooms. It has even been featured on popular TV shows such as Jeopardy!

18. Dermatoglyphics (15 letters)

Dermatoglyphics is a fifteen-letter noun that holds the distinction of being the longest word in the English language that doesn’t contain any repeated letters. It comes from the Greek words derma, meaning “skin,” and glyph, meaning “to carve or engrave.” Dermatoglyphics refers to studying fingerprints and skin patterns, such as ridge count and pattern types. It is used in many fields, such as anthropology, forensics, medicine, and genetics. It is also used to diagnose genetic and hereditary diseases, which is why dermatoglyphics are still studied today.

19. Sesquipedalianism (14 letters)

Sesquipedalianism is a term used to describe the tendency to use long words. It has come to be used to describe someone who uses complex and often obscure words to express their thoughts or ideas.

Sesquipedalian words can create an air of sophistication or make a more precise point. Sesquipedalianism is a handy tool for anyone who wants to express themselves elegantly and precisely. If you want to ensure that your message is getting across without miscommunication, then using these types of words can help you achieve that goal.

20. Strengths (9 letters)

The word strengths is a rather impressive nine-letter word that often gets overlooked when discussing the longest words in the world. It doesn’t come close to the longest word in the world, but it deserves to be on the list for its nearly all-consonant composition. This makes it a unique word, and the fact that it is only nine letters long makes it even more remarkable.

Strengths can refer to a person’s positive qualities or abilities and can be used as a noun or an adjective. No matter how you use it, the word strengths are sure to make an impression.

Commonly asked questions:

Here are a few questions that are asked by the people when it comes to the 20 Longest Words In The World. 

What are some challenging words?

Some tricky English words include:

  1. Stationary vs Stationery.
  2. Separate.
  3. Effect vs affect
  4. Embarrassed.
  5. Compliment vs. Complement.

Which term is most commonly misspelled?

According to WordTips, “coolly” and “minuscule” are the most commonly misspelled words in the majority of English-speaking countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia.

What is the world’s most difficult word?

7 of the most difficult English words that will make you forget what you were going to say:

  1. Worcestershire
  2. Rural
  3. Sixth
  4. Sesquipedalian
  5. Phenomenon
  6. Onomatopoeia
  7. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Conclusion

The world is full of incredibly long words that many people are unaware of. Understanding the meaning behind these words is key to appreciating their length and complexity. These longer words often have exciting backstories and origins.

Whether you learn more about them for yourself or use them to impress your friends, there’s no denying that these words are fascinating. While these words may seem daunting at first, mastering them can help you better understand language, culture, and the world around you.

So next time you encounter an intimidatingly long word, take the time to appreciate its complexity and the power of language.

Sometimes a picture says a thousand words; sometimes a word says a thousand letters.  There are a few instances in the English language where a word is not constructed for the sake of communication so much as to break a world record, for spectacle’s sake.  In that way, the English language is much like the Olympics; here are ten words that really go the distance.

Note: the following are words in the non-strictest sense, being that some are technical terms, some have been coined, while others actually appear in the dictionary.  Depending on which school of thought you subscribe to, lists may very on the basis of “what constitutes a word” (and some may argue simply that letters constitute a word).

Additional note: tying for the #7 spot is the word “hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian.”  It also contains 30 letters.  Let its omission be justified by saying this list, in and of itself, is hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian (i.e. “that which pertains to extremely long words”).

10.  Honorificabilitudinitatibus

This 27-letter word coined by Shakespeare, in his comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost, is a testament to the Bard’s own intralexiconic skills. Meaning “the state of being able to achieve honors,” the word is the longest one in the English language with alternating consonants and vowels (Take a look for yourself….yep.).

9.  Antidisestablishmentarianism

Containing 28-letters, antidisestablishmentarianism is the longest proper word, consisting of proper and compatible root and affix attachments.  After all the Lego blocks have been snapped together, the word comes to mean “the movement or ideology that opposes disestablishment (i.e. the separation of church and state, as in the movement that took place in 1860’s England).”  The word has a dated relevance, or else is the greatest living thing in a world history nerd’s vocabulary.

8.  Floccinaucinihilipilification

This 29-letter word, pieced together from Latin stems, means simply “the deeming of something to be trivial.”  One letter more than antidisestablishmentarianism, and just as big of a mouthful, it is a valid dictionary entry with a usefulness that is much greater than anything it might be placed beside contextually.  Some readers might even be able to maintain a floccinaucinihilipilification for this list.

7.  Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism

This 30-letter word is a technical one for a type of inherited disorder.  An individual with such a disorder resembles someone with Pseudohypoparathyroidism Type 1A, but doesn’t possess a deficiency in calcium or PTH levels (which mark the essential differences between Pseudohypoparathyroidism 1A and Hypoparathyroidism).

To put it far more basically, the word is much more fun to say than to have.

6.  Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

This 34-letter word, which was coined by song-writers Richard and Robert Sherman in the musical film Mary Poppins, is completely made-up, the sum of word parts that don’t even follow proper prefix/suffix placement protocol; the “-istic” following “fragil-” is a suffix, which should signify a word’s end.  However, it is followed by the prefix “ex-,” where a new, separate word should begin.  Nonetheless, it is just another example of a phrase being irretrievably carried off by and imbedded within the culture into which it was born.  Just as how words are invented all the time in rap culture, and swallowed up by a constantly-evolving (or devolving) language system.

The word, containing definable roots, means something like “Atoning for educability through delicate beauty.”  Miss Poppins, however, would insist the word means “something to say when you have nothing to say.”

5.  Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

The term refers to a kind of lung disease caused by a finely-powdered silica dust.  This word, containing 45 letters, does appear in the dictionary, but was created primarily just for the sake of a long word.  An equivalent of what the word is going for, albeit by taking the long way home, is a condition simply called silicosis.  Any doctor diagnosing the former is obviously getting paid by the hour.

4.  Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSppSTBqIvU

This 52-letter word was engendered by Dr. Edward Strother in order to describe spa waters of Bath, England in a single word.  The sum of individually-meaningful parts, the word altogether means roughly, “equally salty, calcium-rich, waxy, containing aluminum and copper, and vitriolic.”  Of course this word has very few applications elsewhere.  Unless maybe you were talking about some kind of 9V-battery-powered robotic chicken wing.

3.  Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphioparaomelito-katakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoio-siraiobaphetraganopterygon

https://youtu.be/9OGEFqV70Ms?t=152

This word, which shan’t be uttered twice, is a transliteration of a word coined by Greek author Aristophanes in his comic play Assemblywomen.  Containing 171 letters, it is the longest word appearing in literature and refers to a fictional dish; the word quite literally is just the smooshing together of the 17 ingredients contained within (including sharks, pigeons, honey, and various unappetizing animal parts).  Don’t expect to see this listed on any menu, as there surely wouldn’t be enough room to list anything else.

2.  Methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenyl-
alanylalanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamyl-
glycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolylphenylalanylvalylthreonyl-
leucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglutaminyl-
serylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamy-
lalanylglycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucyl-
prolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylproly-
lthreonylisoleucylglutaminylaspfraginylalanylthreonylleucylarginy-
lalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylglycylvalylthreonylprolylalanyl-
glutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionylleucylalany-
lleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleucyl-
prolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginy-
lleucylvalylphenylalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartyl-glutamylphenylalanyltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamylly-sylvalylglycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalyl-prolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanylarginyl-glutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanyl-prolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanyl-aspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanyl-seryltyrosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylseryl-arginylalanylglycylvalylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginyl-arginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalyl-alanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginylalanylalanylprolyl-prolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylserylalanyl-prolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanyl-glycylalanylalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucyl-valyllysylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginy-lisoleucylglutamylprolylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanyl-leucyllysylvalylphenylalanylvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanyl-alanylthreonylarginylserine

What you just stared at is the 1913-letter chemical name for tryptophan synthetase, a protein (an enzyme, to be exact) with 267 amino acids.  Of course, it’s completely impractical to actually utter this prankster’s approach to making huge words (the largest one in print), and just looking at it for too long might even lead you to believe there are words and phrases hidden in there like a word search (if you look closely the word “party” shows up a few times, as does something resembling “asparagus”).  Of course, when you cut-and-paste such a word (rather than risk missing even a single letter, for accuracy’s sake), you risk looking like an ass by not thoroughly combing through that contrived brick-o’-letters.

1.  [Titin’s Chemical Name]

This 189,819-letter word shall not be printed in its entirety, partially because it is literally too big to print (without filling the space of a short novella that is), and would be a waste of time and hard drive space.  Along the same lines as the last example, it is a derivation of the chemical components that comprise the protein; abridged, the word is “Methionylthreonylthreonyl…isoleucine,” really not worth seeing sprawled-out if for a single-purpose novelty (the only real purpose a chemical name could possibly serve).

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