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It might seem like an easy task to name the longest English word – just look it up in the dictionary. But in practice, experts disagree.
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By Melissa MohrCorrespondent
What is the longest word in the English language? This might seem like an easy question to answer: Look it up in the dictionary, or search online, and there you go. But in practice, experts disagree. What counts as a word? How frequently must a term be used?
If you’re looking for length, scientific nomenclature is a good place to begin. The chemical name of the protein titin, found in muscle tissue, beginsmethionylthreonylthreonyl... and goes on for another 189,794 letters, approximately as many characters as 70 pages ofsingle-spaced text. This is the longest string of English letters that names a thing, but it’s not a word per se. It’s a formula that represents this protein’s chemical composition linguistically, rather than numerically or in a diagram.
Many writers have enjoyed coining long words, but these rarely gain traction in wider use. Aristophanes, the comic poet of ancient Greece, came up with a name for a stew made of fish, pigeons, and honey that has 182 letters when transliterated into English.
James Joyce made up ten 100- and 101-letter words to represent various sounds, includingbababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonn
erronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk, for the thunder that rang out when Adam fell from God’s grace. Although this is a very cool onomatopoeia – made up of words imitating the sounds “thunder” in different languages – it is not really a contender for the record either. No one uses it, except perhaps literary critics or students struggling through “Finnegans Wake.”
On the other hand, English speakers around the world are familiar with supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters). When it was first popularized in the 1964 film “Mary Poppins,” it was fun but meaningless and so it is still often left off lists of longest words. Merriam-Websterexplains that it is in the running now, though: “the mouthful of nonsensical syllables certainly has brought cheer to audiences for decades. That cheer has inspired people to use it ... for things that are extraordinarily good or wonderful,” a supercalifragilistic (for short) development!
Coming in at 29 letters, floccinaucinihilipilification – “the act of estimating something to be worthless” – is the longest word that invites no arguments. It’s in dictionaries, is occasionally used in public, and has a pedigree. It was coined in the 18th century by students at Eton, a boarding school in Britain, by linking four Latin words for “nothing.”
Except for methionyl... the words we’re talking about were all intentionally created to be long. What’s the longest in common use? How about smiles? As the joke goes, there’s a mile between the beginning and end of the word!
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I am an enthusiast with a deep understanding of linguistics, particularly the intricacies of the English language. My knowledge spans various aspects of language, including etymology, phonetics, and linguistic creativity. I've explored the evolution of words, the formation of neologisms, and the fascinating world of exceptionally long words.
Now, diving into the article you provided on the longest word in the English language, the author discusses the complexity of determining the longest word. The piece touches upon scientific nomenclature, citing the protein titin's chemical name as an example. It delves into historical instances of lengthy words coined by figures such as Aristophanes and James Joyce. Additionally, the article mentions "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and introduces "floccinaucinihilipilification" as the longest word in common use.
The author highlights the challenges in defining what constitutes a word and the criteria for measuring length. The exploration of linguistic creativity, historical word creations, and the humorous side of long words makes this article an engaging read for language enthusiasts. If you have any specific questions or if there's a particular aspect you'd like to discuss further, feel free to let me know!
