Top 10 Longest Words In The English Language

 

Ironically, some of the longest words in the English language have the simplest meanings. For example, according to the Oxford dictionary, the longest non-technical word in the English language is “Floxinoxinihilipilification ”It means something useless or worthless.

The English language is a storehouse of some of the longest words in the world. A few of the words that qualify the title take several hours to pronounce and are several pages in length. Yes, we are not kidding.

In case you are intrigued, this post will definitely amaze you beyond bounds.

Here’s A List Of The Top 10 Longest Words In English

If you want to take Scrabble to the next level in tomorrow’s recess hours, going through this list can help you to score some outstanding points, given that you can come up with a trick to remember the spellings of course.

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

Definition: Extreme fear of lengthy words

Let us start with this very long noun. Ironically, the term was coined to describe the fear of long words. It is used to express humorous contexts in a formal manner.

• Antidisestablishmentarianism

Definition: Opposition against the establishment of the Church of England

This word is a noun that originated during the 19th century in Britain. Today, it is used to refer to any government who withdraws support from a religious organisation.

• Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

Definition: A lung disease caused by the inhalation of fine particles of dust

This word is a noun that was coined during the late 1930s by Everett K. Smith, the President of the National Puzzlers’ League. Though the word has survived through time, it is not used in real medical practices.

• Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism

Definition: An inherited disorder of an individual who has a phenotypic appearance of pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1

It is a genetic disorder that affects the formation of bone structure. It causes short stature, round face and short hand bones in an individual.

• Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic

Definition: Spa water in the City of Bath in England

This word is a noun, coined by an eighteenth-century physicist Dr Edward Strother.  It was formed by stringing together a series of Latin words that describe the chemical composition of the spa waters of the Bath.

• Otorhinolaryngological

Definition: Branch of medical science dealing with the treatment of head, ear, throat, neck and nose disorders

Most patients suffering from cancer and benign tumours in neck and head seek treatment from this type of disease.

• Hepaticocholangiocholecystenterostomies

Definition: Creation of a link between the hepatic duct and the gall bladder, and gall bladder and intestine

This is the longest word found in The Gould’s Medical Dictionary. It describes the  link between the three organs namely hepatic duct, gall bladder and intestine that allows these organs to communicate.

• Osseocaynisanguineoviscericartilagininervomedullary

Definition: A Scientific Term Related To Anatomy

Thomas Love Peacock used this term for the first time in his novel Headlong Hall in 1816. It is a combination of classic Greek and Latin terms, which describes parts of a human body.

• Honorificabilitudinitatibus

Definition: A state in which a person is able to achieve honours

Shakespeare used the word for the first time in his famous comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost. This word has a unique characteristic. It is the longest word in the English language that has alternating consonants and vowels.

1. Spectrophotofluorometrically

Definition: An instrument that measures the amount of light dispersed from a colour band while tracing tiny components of blood or body tissue.

Mainly used in medical studies, this word means measuring the level of lights in a spectrum.

What Is The Longest Word In The English Language? 

We can only give you a glimpse of the longest English word in the world but writing the word down is beyond the scope of this blog. The very word spans over fifty-seven pages and consists of 189819 letters. Surprised!  The word actually exists. It signifies a giant protein “Titin” which is responsible for the passive elasticity of muscles.

Here Is A Glimpse Of The First Part Of The Word:

Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylal
anylvalylprolylphenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutam
ylalanylglycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylglu
taminylasparaginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylglycylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionyll
eucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylvalylphe
nylalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanyltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylal
anylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanylarginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanylprolyli
soleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylaspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylseryltyrosylglycylarginylgly
/>cyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycylvalylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidy
lleucylvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylgluta
minylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylglycylalanylala………

Though there are disputes over whether it is the longest word. The longest word in the major dictionary is Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

Are you eager to know how the word sounds? If you are bold enough to spend the time, go and find it on YouTube where an extremely helpful person has taken all the troubles to pronounce it for you. However, be ready with some popcorns and snacks before you get started, as it will take you more than three hours to watch it! Yes, we are serious. It is just a little shorter the film Gone with the Wind!

Some Fun Facts About The Early Use Of The Longest Words In English:

• Did you know an ancient Greek comedic playwright had coined a 171 letters word that signified a fictional dish? It described the ingredients that were used to prepare the dish and was sung during the enactment of the play.

“Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphioparaomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekepha
lliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon…”

• The famous writer James Joyce also made up new words for his novel Finnegans Wake. He coined nine 100-letter words and another word of 101-letters, one of which appears on the very first page of the novel. The word is

“Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk.”

It represents the symbolic lightning and thunderclap that is associated with the fall of Adam and Eve.

Sylvia Plath,in her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar mentions this word once in reference to a time when she had been reading Finnegans Wake.

• A song in Mary Poppins has a 34-letter title and has been attributed to the meaning “A word you speak when you have nothing else to say.” The word is “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

Longest English Words That Have Set A Record For Their Unique Characteristics:

1. Incomprehensibilities: During the 1990s, this word had set a record for the longest word “in common usage.”
2. Strengths: This word earned a Guinness world record for being the only nine lettered word where all the letters are consonants except one. It is one of the longest monosyllabic words in the English language.
3. Euouae: This word holds two Guinness records for being the longest word in English, exclusively made up of vowels. Are you wondering what its meaning could be? It is a musical term of medieval times.

Due to space constraints, most of these long words have been excluded from the dictionary.  However, the advent of the World Wide Web has eased our problems. The constraints of the dictionary don’t stand as a hindrance in the path of adding new information to our knowledge pool anymore. Do you want to learn more about the intricacies of the English language? Our experts are just a call away to guide you with remarkable study materials.

https://bit.ly/3OoRFSO