Have you ever wondered what the longest words in the English language are or, for that matter, what they look like. If so, you are probably not the only one who has ever been curious. There are lots of people who love fun facts and trivia and longest words happen to be one of them.
There are quite a few words that belong among some of the longest words in the English language. Many of these words have the simplest meanings. Ironically, this may mean the bigger the word the smaller the definition. Most of these words have been coined, constructed, are technical terms, are a mixture of both or are names of places.
Coined Words
· Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
The word we all know from the movie Mary Poppins. The word was coined especially for the movie and the musical. It is made up of 34 letters. The word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious means something you say when you are not sure what to say. The word is found in several dictionaries with the reference to the movie and the musical.
· Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian
How ironic this word is. It is made up of 30 letters. The word is defined as a word that has been coined to make a very long word.
· Floccinaucinihilipilification
This word is made up of 29 letters and is a coined word. The word means that you regard something as not being important. This word is the longest word in English that has not been challenged.
Constructed Words
Constructed words are those words that have been added on to time and time again to make a word into a bigger word which causes the definition to also change a bit. Prefixes and suffixes are added onto the words to make the word a bit different each time. One such word is antidisestablishmentarianism. This word is 28 letters long. It is the longest non-technical, non-coined word in English. The meaning of this word is the movement or ideal that opposes disestablishment.
Technical Words
One of the longest words in the English language is pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism. This word is found in major dictionaries and is made up of 30 letters. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is also the longest non-coined word found in the English language. The definition is an inherited disorder one can get.
Another technical term is aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriol ic. It is made up of 52 letters in its spelling. The word describes the spa waters in Bath, England. The word is composed by putting seven different elements together to make this on great big word:
· Aequeo- the meaning of this word is equal
· Salino - the meaning of this word is containing salt
· Calcalino – the meaning of this word is calcium
· Ceraceo - the meaning of this word is waxy
· Aluminoso – the meaning of this word is alumina
· Cupreo – this word stems from the word "copper"
· Vitriolic – the meaning of this word is resembling
There are several words that have been coined to be long. However, the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis that is coined and technical. It is the longest word in English having 45 letters. This very long word can be found in some major dictionaries.
The meaning of pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis is a lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust which causes inflammation in the lungs. The word and disease are usually cut short in the form of this word, silicosis, which may be more recognizable to people than the 45 letter version.
Longest Words in the English Language
How exactly would you go about placing these words in sentences? You would have to place them just right to get them to make since. However, if you could place them correctly in a sentence would you be able to pronounce the word? For that matter would you be able to get them spelled correctly? As you know we are dealing with the longest words in the English language so the spelling and the pronunciation are going to be hard.
There are quite a few words that belong among some of the longest words in the English language. Many of these words have the simplest meanings. Ironically, this may mean the bigger the word the smaller the definition. Most of these words have been coined, constructed, are technical terms, are a mixture of both or are names of places.
Coined Words
· Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
The word we all know from the movie Mary Poppins. The word was coined especially for the movie and the musical. It is made up of 34 letters. The word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious means something you say when you are not sure what to say. The word is found in several dictionaries with the reference to the movie and the musical.
· Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian
How ironic this word is. It is made up of 30 letters. The word is defined as a word that has been coined to make a very long word.
· Floccinaucinihilipilification
This word is made up of 29 letters and is a coined word. The word means that you regard something as not being important. This word is the longest word in English that has not been challenged.
Constructed Words
Constructed words are those words that have been added on to time and time again to make a word into a bigger word which causes the definition to also change a bit. Prefixes and suffixes are added onto the words to make the word a bit different each time. One such word is antidisestablishmentarianism. This word is 28 letters long. It is the longest non-technical, non-coined word in English. The meaning of this word is the movement or ideal that opposes disestablishment.
Technical Words
One of the longest words in the English language is pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism. This word is found in major dictionaries and is made up of 30 letters. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is also the longest non-coined word found in the English language. The definition is an inherited disorder one can get.
Another technical term is aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriol ic. It is made up of 52 letters in its spelling. The word describes the spa waters in Bath, England. The word is composed by putting seven different elements together to make this on great big word:
· Aequeo- the meaning of this word is equal
· Salino - the meaning of this word is containing salt
· Calcalino – the meaning of this word is calcium
· Ceraceo - the meaning of this word is waxy
· Aluminoso – the meaning of this word is alumina
· Cupreo – this word stems from the word "copper"
· Vitriolic – the meaning of this word is resembling
There are several words that have been coined to be long. However, the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis that is coined and technical. It is the longest word in English having 45 letters. This very long word can be found in some major dictionaries.
The meaning of pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis is a lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust which causes inflammation in the lungs. The word and disease are usually cut short in the form of this word, silicosis, which may be more recognizable to people than the 45 letter version.
Longest Words in the English Language
How exactly would you go about placing these words in sentences? You would have to place them just right to get them to make since. However, if you could place them correctly in a sentence would you be able to pronounce the word? For that matter would you be able to get them spelled correctly? As you know we are dealing with the longest words in the English language so the spelling and the pronunciation are going to be hard.