May 15, 2009

Longest Word in English

Has it crossed your mind, what is the longest word in English?

According to Wikipedia, the longest word in any of the major English language dictionaries is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a word which refers to a lung disease contracted from the inhalation of very fine silica particles, specifically from a volcano.

The Oxford English Dictionary contains pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (30 letters), which is an inherited disorder, named for its similarity to pseudohypoparathyroidism in presentation. The term pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is used to describe a condition where the individual has the phenotypic appearance of pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1a, but is biochemically normal.

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"...

A real tongue-twister, huh? (^_~) hehe



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