What is the long word in the english language

Ready to take your Scrabble skills to the next level? This list of the longest words in the English language could score you major points on your next game — if you can remember how to spell them.

Some of the words that qualify for the title take hours to pronounce, like the 189,819-letter word for the  protein Titin. Additionally, many of the longest words are medical terms, so we have excluded some of them to allow for more variety. The end result is a list of fascinatingly lengthy words that will make your vocabulary downright sesquipedalian.

Do you want to impress your friends with the longest English words? This blog is for you! Some of these words aren’t used very often, but some of them are quite common and you will absolutely be able to use them whenever you’re speaking English. 

• The longest word in English
• The longest word in the dictionary
• The longest words we actually use
• The longest word with one syllable
• The longest word with one vowel

The longest word in English

The actual longest word in English is unfortunately so long that I can’t write it here. It has 189,819 letters and takes over three hours to say! We don’t have time for that. And thankfully, it isn’t a word you’re likely to use because it’s the chemical name for titin. Here’s a very brief snapshot: meth…ucine. Just add 189,810 letters in between. 

The longest word in the dictionary

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is the longest word in any major English dictionary. It refers to a lung disease which can also be called silicosis. Why the long version then? Because it was deliberately made up to be the longest word in the English dictionary. The longest non-technical, non-medical word in an English dictionary is the 29-letter flocci­nauci­nihili­pili­fication. This is a Latin word that means the act of estimating that something is worthless. 

The longest words we actually use

You might have realized you’ve never heard anyone use any of the words we’ve mentioned so far. That has nothing to do with your level of English – most native speakers don’t know those words either! The longest words you will see in a normal English text are counterrevolutionaries and deinstitutionalisation, both with 22 letters. Another, with 21 letters, is incomprehensibilities, meaning things which are impossible to understand. The longest word we use regularly in everyday speech is probably uncharacteristically, at 20 letters. 

The longest word with one syllable

Brits and Americans are going to argue over this one. Because of our different pronunciations, we don’t agree on what is the longest one-syllable word in English. People from the US and Canada might tell you that it’s the word squirrel(l)ed. This has ten or eleven letters, again depending on where you’re from. While our transatlantic friends pronounce this something like ‘squirld’ (ˈskwərld), Brits pronounce the word squirrelled with two syllables: ‘squir-relled’ (ˈskwir-əld). I don’t want to say who’s wrong or right but… we are learning British English here. 

There are several longest words with one syllable in British English and they all have nine letters: screeched, scratched and strengths are just three of them. (We’re going to see strengths again in a bit – it’s our word of the day today.)

The longest word with only vowels

Euouae wins this category. With six letters, it is the longest word in English with only vowels. However, ask an English person what this word means and they probably won’t have a clue. It’s a musical word from medieval times, so not a massively useful term to know for most of us.

The longest word without a vowel

People argue over this one because it’s hard to agree on what is or isn’t a vowel. If we take the standard English definition that there are five vowels – a e i o u – then rhythms is the longest English word without a vowel. But some people will say that the y in rhythm acts as a vowel.

Another worthy contender for this category is the word tsktsks. That doesn’t look much like English, does it? It’s more of a sound than a word and it’s sometimes spelt tsk-tsks, but tsktsks is allowed in Scrabble so I think it counts. It’s similar to a tut-tut sound of disapproval. 

The longest word with one vowel

Strengths! Our word of the day is back. Strengths, with nine letters, is the longest word in English with only one vowel. A fairly close rival is schnapps, which has eight letters; so let’s raise a glass to it, and to all of the long words we’ve met today, and say ‘cheers’.  

Which of these long words do you think you’ll be able to use in your next English conversation?

Laura is a freelance writer and was an ESL teacher for eight years. She was born in the UK and has lived in Australia and Poland, where she writes blogs for Lingoda about everything from grammar to dating English speakers. She’s definitely better at the first one. She loves travelling and that’s the other major topic that she writes on. Laura likes pilates and cycling, but when she’s feeling lazy she can be found curled up watching Netflix. She’s currently learning Polish, and her battle with that mystifying language has given her huge empathy for anyone struggling to learn English. Find out more about her work in her portfolio.

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.

Прежде чем вы начнете читать статью, ответьте на вопрос: Сколько букв в самом длинном слове английского языка? 50? 75? 100? 220? В любом случае, запомните эту цифру.

Трудно поверить, но в самом коротком длинном слове в английском языке «всего» 27(!) букв. Мы начнем с самого короткого слова, а закончим самым длинным:

1. Honorificabilitudinitatibus

Это слово придумал Уильям Шекспир, и найти его можно в комедии «Бесплодные усилия любви» (Love’sLabour’s Lost). Имеет ли это слово значение? Да. Оно означает «достойный почестей, признания», и вы найдете его в словарях, хотя оно и маркируется как устаревшее.

2. Antidisestablishmentarianism

Это слово (28 букв!) вы найдете в словаре, и переводится оно следующим образом – движение за не разделение государства и церкви. Данное движение появилось в Англии в середине 1860-ых. Хотя слово и относится к устаревшим (архаичным) словам, оно встречается в научной (исторической) и художественной литературе.

3. Floccinaucinihilipilification

В этом слове 29 букв и состоит оно из корней латинских слов. Что оно означает? Вы его без труда найдете в словарях, а означает оно «опорочивание, дискредитация».

4. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism

В этом слове 30 букв. И обозначает оно один из типов генетического нарушения. Этот тип схож с тем, что в медицине называют псевдогипопаратиреоз, но при нем не наблюдается дефицит кальция. Не вдаваясь в медицинские детали, лучше не иметь у себя в организме то, что называется словом из 30 букв.

5. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Несмотря на то, что в этом слове 34 буквы, оно весьма популярно, так как встречается в песне, которую поет Мэри Поппинс в мюзикле «Мэри Поппинс». В словарях вы найдете такой перевод — суперархиэкстраультрамегаграндиозно. Авторство принадлежит Ричарду и Роберту Шерманам, написавшим тексты песен для мюзикла. В слове угадывается некоторый оттенок учености, хотя сама героиня книги говорила, что его стоит произносить, когда совсем нечего сказать.

6. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

В этом медицинском термине 45 букв! И означает он заболевание легких, вызванное вдыханием пыли, содержащей свободную двуокись кремния. Это слово зафиксировано в словарях, но в медицинской практике пользуются очень коротким словом – silicosis (силикоз или силикатоз).  Доктора, которые пишут в истории болезни такое длинное слово, очевидно, получают почасовую зарплату.

7. Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic

Это слово из 52 букв придумал Д-р Эдвард Строзер, для того чтобы описать состав воды для spa-процедур, которые можно получить в английском городе Бат (Bath). И сделал он это при помощи одного слова! Если расшифровать это слово, то получится – «равномерно соленая», «содержит кальций», «содержит алюминий и медь», «имеет восковый блеск». Конечно, вряд ли вы увидите это слово в научных статьях или услышите в речи, разве что в самих spa-салонах увидите его на постерах.

8. Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotr

immatosilphioparaomelito-katakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoio-siraiobaphetraganopterygon

В этом слове 171 буква, а авторство принадлежит древнегреческому автору Аристофану. В одной из комедий он приводит придуманное им самим блюдо. В основе – названия необычных ингредиентов: акулы, голуби, мед и всевозможные фрагменты тел животных, надо сказать, не всегда аппетитные.

В начале статьи мы попросили вас предположить, сколько букв в самом длинном слове английского языка. Какую цифру вы выбрали? Смеем предположить, что вы ошиблись. Потому что самое длинное английское слово —

9. 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

Да, это одно слово и в нем 1913 букв (!). Это химическое название триптофансинтетазы, белка, в составе которого 27 аминокислот.

Конечно, нет смысла составлять такие длинные слова, прежде всего из-за их непрактичности. Поэтому в языке их не так уж много. Но на досуге можно попробовать прочитать их и, возможно, даже запомнить парочку! 

Предлагаем начать с «supercalifragilisticexpialidocious». И это возможно!

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