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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - Longest English word in the world?
We all know this word from the old Disney musical Mary Poppins. It has 34 letters. But his one has 45 letters...
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. And neither even comes close to the longest word in the English language. Do you know what it is? Do you even know what these two words above mean?
I Yahoo-gle it from the 2nd 's':
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=A0LEV1BlIfdTshoAsshXNyoA;_...
Now, I see you miss 'slash-don't bash', too!
My 'yahoo-gle' in motion:
I have two, same as 'Tu-than-kha-full-moon'
Relation with China and living there ?
None.
DrMonkey:
Yes, I am. This is trolling with no sophistication at all. I believe efforts should be put in any action, even trolling.
On the subject of long words......
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Guess what?
diverdude1:
nary an idea.... but in my defense, I'm from across the Pond.
icnif77:
Can somebody write correct pron./phonetic of the Llanfair.....word? How fast do you say that word in Welsh? Can't be longer than 2'....
icnif77:
I try to read it aloud in Welsh! I found it very convenient, I don't have any bones in my tongue.
Claimed longest English word:
The longest word in English is claimed to be a scientific term of 189,819 letters; it describes a protein, or a family of proteins, and doesn't appear in standard dictionaries. Researchers who need to speak of it call it 'titin' for short, which just leaves 189,814 letters to go when they write their reports.
English dictionary entries claiming the title of longest English word:
The longest word in a standard English dictionary is the 45-letter'pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis'. This word was concocted in 1935 by a fan of word games and puzzles, using the lung disease, silicosis, as its base.
How it is pronounced:
noo-muh-noh-uhl-truh-mahy-kruh-skop-ik-sil-i-koh-vol-key-noh-koh-nee-oh-sis.
It is an obscure term referring to a lung disease caused by inhalation of silica dust.
However, it is actually 4 words.
The longest non-technical word in an English dictionary, (and the longest in common usage) is the 34-letter 'supercalifragilisticexpialadocious'. It was created by lyricists Richard and Robert Sherman as part of a song written for the 1964 Disney musical movie, 'Mary Poppins', and is 'something to say when you've nothing to say'.
Mary Poppins herself suggests: 'Just summon up this word and then you've got a lot to say'. This is how it is occasionally used, although it more frequently describes something really good: 'beyond super', or it's just cited as an example of a very long word.
Of the main contenders for the title of the longest non-technical English dictionary entry, the adjectivesupercalifragilisticexpialadocious, unlike the other two famous long words, has the distinction of remaining in popular usage, very probably because it is easily pronounceable.
The second-longest non-technical word in an English dictionary is the 29-letter'floccinaucinihilipilification', a composite of four Latin words, first recorded in 1791 and taken from a rule in the students' and scholars' guide, Eton Latin Grammar, first published in the 1500s.
Coined as a witticism (possibly by Eton students) and frequently cited as the longest word in English, it is still occasionally used in its literal, humorous meaning: estimating something as worthless or trivial, of small value, or given away free. For example: Jo: 'I love opera,'; Kim: 'Opera's all rubbish!'; Jo: 'You're floccinaucinihilipilifating again, aren't you? To say this word, just break it up into its smaller parts: flocci-nauci-nihili-pili-fication.
The third-longest non-technical and the longest non-coined, that is, evolved word in an English dictionary is the 28-letter 'antidisestablishmentarianism', a term describing a political movement opposed to, or anti-, the movement advocating the removal of the Church of England as the UK state church, the English disestablishmentarian movement of the 1800s (which failed).
The status of all four of these claimed longest English dictionary entries is, of course, subject to debate.
Other claimants to the longest English word title:
The longest non-scientific word - not a dictionary entry - in the English language is claimed to be the 85-letter Maori name of a hill in New Zealand.
Next comes the 51-letter name of a village on a Welsh island, though, like the long lung disease and the earlier Latin compilation, this word was put together simply in order to be a very long word; specifically, to bestow upon the local railway station the honour of having the longest name in the British Railways guide. It worked, and people have been visiting the place for over a hundred and fifty years, just to see the signs.
icnif77:
I understood till the 2nd 's', but further to 'vulcanosilica' thingy, I couldn't say what's that. Some chemistry stuff.
That's not a word, I hated the movie, actually hate all musicals. I've seen words in German that I wouldn't begin to try and pronounce.