Longest word in the English language?

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chris

#160 Tue, 15 Apr 03 06:24 PM

holophrastic (adjective)

and to make up for yesterday.... how about.....

scuttlebutt

By the way. does anybody know what the longest word in the English dictionary is?

chris

Joined on Mon, Apr 7 2003

Malta

Contributing Member (1,105)

Longest words

hitchhiker

#161 Tue, 15 Apr 03 08:31 PM

hehe,

A scan of my database (for a word game we're doing) got:

ethylenediaminetetraacetates at 28 letters

But I don't think chemical names are counted right?

This was the query for anyone interested:
SELECT MAX(LEN(EN)) AS ml, EN
FROM dictionaryEnable
GROUP BY EN
ORDER BY ml DESC

(sorry, wrong forum!)

hitchhiker

Joined on Mon, Nov 18 2002

Malta, Europe

Senior Member (3,393)

"OK, so ten out of ten for style, but minus several million for good thinking, yeah?"

Longest words

chris

#163 Tue, 15 Apr 03 09:13 PM

Hmm..

Not bad... BUT I can beat that with a word found in certain dictionaries - note: neither in Oxford English nor have I found it in dictionary.com .... ready for it

Drum Roll!!!!!!!

floccinauccinihilipilification (a whopping 30 letters)

meaning?

To estimate something as worthless.

How would one use it in a sentence....... NO IDEA!

chris

hitchhiker

#164 Tue, 15 Apr 03 09:19 PM

I use this word regularly, only the other day I remember thinking..

"This thread is the floccinauccinihilipilification of pointless"

:)

hitchhiker

chris

#165 Tue, 15 Apr 03 09:32 PM

Somehow, it doesn't seem quite right!

Anyhow,

How about this:

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (a cracking 45 letters)

Meaning?

A lung disease.

Let us hope that no-one in our lifetime ever contracts it as we'd have a damn difficult time trying to pronounce it!

Sorry, that was rather distasteful.

chris

hitchhiker

#166 Tue, 15 Apr 03 09:42 PM

(Like medicine isn't hard enough to study)

45 letters, you'd be dead before they had a chance to tell you what it was.

"Sir, you have pneumonoultramicroscopicsilico.... (beeep beeeeeeeeep)"