What is the longest word?
October 3, 2004 | 12:00am
Last week, in this column’s article entitled "What a difference a word makes!" we asked readers to find a word longer than the 26-letter word ethylenediamine-tetraacetic. We were pleasantly amazed by the surprising amount of texts and e-mails we received. After all, people’s response is a fairly good indication that you are being read.
Sesquipedalianism is the practice of using long, pedantic, and polysyllabic words (from the Latin sesquipedalis meaning one foot and a half long). No, we are not into this habit but it would be fun to find out the longest word of the English language. Here the entries sent in by our readers:
• Methylchloroizothiazolinone (27 letters) - Nante Galamgam
• Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane or DDT (31 letters) - Eleuterio Paje, Harbor City, California
• Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilico-volcanoconiosis (45 letters, a factitious word alleged to mean a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust) - Francis Sales, UP Diliman, QC; also Jan Andrew Zubiri, Ronald Gabriel, and Ron Gonzales
• Antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters) - Exequiel Alikpala
• Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters, appears in the Oxford English Dictionary), Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogery-chwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (58 letters, a village in Wales), or perhaps "smiles," after all, there is a mile between the first letter and the last. - Dr. Bopeep Ladrido UP Visayas, Iloilo City
• Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilico-volcanoconiosis, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogery-chwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, antidisestablishmentarianism, floccinaucinihilipilification (the estimation of something as worthless), honorificabili-tudinitatibus (appears in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost) - Gerald Chua
• We should exclude scientific words in the longest word category because they’re just concatenations of prefixes and suffixes. I still believe the longest word is what follows "a word from our sponsor." - Jesse Lao, Seattle, Washington
Bobby Manasan from Canada e-mailed the following information:
As of popular usage, Antidisestablish-mentarianism (a movement opposed to the separation of church and state) at 28 letters is often accepted as the best-known "longest word."
As a coined term, the word pneumonoul-tramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis at 45 letters is certainly the longest word ever to appear in a non-technical dictionary of English (Source: OED). The actual name of the disease is pneumoconiosis.
There is a 207,000+ letter word cited by the Guinness Book of Records which allegedly represents the name for human mitochondrial DNA. It’s too long to print here.
The longest word which appears in William Shakespeare’s works is the 27-letter honorificabilitudinitatibus, appearing in Love’s Labour’s Lost.
The song-title from the movie Mary Poppins "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" with 34 letters appears in several dictionaries but as a proper noun in reference to the song title. Hence it may well be dismissed as not a "real" word.
The Guinness Book of Records in 1992 (and subsequent editions) declares the "longest real word" in the English language to be floccinaucinihilipilification at 29 letters. Its usage has been recorded as far back as 1741.
Scientific naming schemes generate arbitrarily long words. According to the Guinness Book of Records, 18th edition, the scientific name for tryptophan synthetase is the longest chemical word for C1289H2051N343O375S8:
me_thionyl_glutaminyl_arginyl_tyrosylgluta-mylserylleucylphenyl_alanyl_alanyl_g-lutaminyl_leucyllysylglutamylarginyl_lysylglutam-ylglycylalanyl_phenyl_alanyl_valylprolylphen-yl_alanyl_valylthreonyl_leucylglycylaspartylp-rolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglutaminyl_serylleu-cyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonyl_leucylisoleucylgluta-mylalanyl_glycylalanyl_aspartylalanyl_leucylgluta-mylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenyl_alanyl_sery-laspartylprolylleucylalanyl_aspartylglycylprolylthreon-yl_isoleucylglutaminyl_asparaginyl_alan-yl_threonyl_leucylarginyl_alanyl_phenyl_ala-nyl_alanyl_alanyl_glycylvalylthreonyl_prolylalany-l_glutaminyl_cysteinyl_phenyl_alanyl_gluta-mylme_thionyl_leucylalanyl_leucylisoleucylargin-yl_glutaminyl_lysylhistidylprolylthreonyl_isoleucylp-rolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylme_thionyl_tyrosylalan-yl_asparaginyl_leucylvalylphenyl_alan-yl_asparaginyl_lysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutam-ylphenyl_alanyl_tyrosylalanyl_glutamin-yl_cysteinyl_glutamyllysylvalylglycy-lvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanyl_aspartylvalylp-rolylvalylglutaminyl_glutamylserylalany-l_prolylphenyl_alan-yl_arginyl_glutaminy-l_alanyl_alanyl_leucylarg-inyl_histidylasparagin-yl_valylalanyl_p-rolylisoleucylphen-yl_alanyl_isoleuc-ylcysteinyl_p-rolylprolylaspartylalan-yl_aspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginyl_gluta-minyl_isoleucylalanyl_seryltyrosylglycylarginyl_glycylty-rosylthreonyl_tyrosylleucylleucylserylargin-yl_alanyl_glycylvalylthreonyl_glycylalan-yl_glutamylasparaginyl_arginyl_alanyl_alanyl_leucylprolylle-ucylasparaginyl_histidylleucylvalylalanyl_lysylleucyllysylgluta-myltyrosylasparaginyl_alanyl_alanyl_pro-lylprolylleucylglutaminyl_glycylphenyl_ala- nyl_glycylisoleucylserylalanyl_prolylaspartylglutaminyl_- valyllysylalanyl_alanyl_isoleucylaspartylalanyl_-glycylalany_alanyl_glycylalanyl_isoleucylserylglycyls-erylalanyl_isoleucylvalyllysylisoleucylisoleucylglutamy-lglutaminyl_histidylasparaginyl_is- oleucylglutamylprolylglutamyllysylme_th-ionyl_leucylalanyl_alanyl_leucyllysylvalylphe-nyl_alanyl_valylglutaminyl_prolylme_t- hionyl_lysylalanyl_alanyl_threonyl_arginyl_serine
The longest officially recognized place name in an English-speaking country is Taumatawhakatang_ihangakoauauot_amateaturipuk-aka_pikimaunga_horonuku_pokaiwhenuak_itanatahu (85 letters), a hill in New Zealand.
A popular joke answer to the "longest word" question is the word smiles, credited as the longest word because there is a mile between each S.
According to some, the longest word is the word after the sentence "And now, a word from our sponsors".
What I should have added as a rule is that the longest word entry should be found in an average home dictionary. We will be more specific next time!
Remember our article "Earthshaking truth about earthquakes"? Well, we might have spoken too soon.
Currently, there are two major schools of thought regarding what to do during a tremblor. The "drop, cover and hold on" procedure which the American Red Cross and other American disaster agencies recommend, and finding a "triangle of safety" which disaster expert Douglas F. Copp upholds. Copp claims that those who take cover (under a table, a desk or a car) always get squashed by the object.
Tammy Licauco from Sydney Australia and Susan S. Lara, called our attention to an entry from the Urban Legends reference page at http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/triangle.asp questioning the credibility of Copp, the author of the "triangle of life" concept. Eugene Sunio, a geologist and geochemist, sent in the Red Cross stand on Copp’s "triangle of life".
Rocky Lopes, PhD, Manager, Community Disaster Education, says: "The Red Cross is not saying that identifying potential voids is wrong or inappropriate. What we are saying is that ‘Drop, Cover, and Hold On!’ is not wrong in the United States (where the building codes are stricter). The American Red Cross, being a U.S.-based organization, does not extend its recommendations to apply in other countries. What works here may not work elsewhere, so there is no dispute that the ‘void identification method’ or the ‘Triangle of Life’ may indeed be the best thing to teach in other countries where the risk of building collapse, even in moderate earthquakes, is great."
I personally believe that there is some merit to the concept of Copp because it makes scientific sense. More studies should be made on it by the proper authorities. In the meantime, it is best to read up on the safety information prepared by established earthquake safety experts such as the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Here are some wonderful e-mails from our readers:
"I would like to tell you that I love reading your column. More power. Mabuhay!" – Cecile Schulz, Wiesbaden, Germany
"Greetings! I just want you to know how I love your article today. It brought a smile to my lips and a tug to my heart, too (The Power of Copy and How To Sell God). Thank you and more power." – Elyray Regner, NY
"I liked your suggestions on how to look, feel rich, etc., especially during hard times. However, maybe it is a good suggestion, too, that kids from well-off families who have been accustomed to living in style would somehow find it in their hearts to visit and do charitable works for the underprivileged. Keep on writing about values formation. But we need also the jokes that you write, if only to ease our aching hearts and burdens." – Mariz Kubeli
"Hi! I’m Jo, 24 years old from Pampanga. I just want to tell you that I’ve been reading and collecting your articles in The Philippine Star since 1999. You never fail to inspire and enlighten me. Thanks and more power." – Marjorie Narciso
"Thank you for your entertaining piece "Living Alive" about Philippine oddities. I’ve learned a lot about the Philippines that I have never visited so far but what really struck me was this wonderful monobloc chair observation you made. This white plastic chair is in the center of some extensive research that I am currently doing. So I wanted to say thank you for your interesting ethnological observation that I might include in my book on these chairs." – Jens Thiel, Berlin, Germany
And this is my favorite: "Dear Mr. Seminar, my name is Bryan P. Ongsingco, 24 years old from Bacolod City. I want to tell you that the issue you wrote about Princess Diana, "The unsolved mystery of the Diana tradegy", was truly a wonderful article indeed. Hope to read more interesting articles from you in The Philippine Star. God Bless! – Bryan P. Ongsingco Bacolod City (Mr. Seminar? That’s cool!)
Thanks, too, to Merarth Airos Lontayao from Bicol, Joy Montero, Radyo Pilipinas station manager, Agnes Mendoza from Vancouver, Gary W. Jerome, Director of Admission of the International School Manila, Emy Masigan Mercado from Vancouver Canada, Bon Doroja, and Jarold Egan for their encouraging e-mails!
For your comments and suggestions, e-mail DeroSeminar@yahoo.com.
• Methylchloroizothiazolinone (27 letters) - Nante Galamgam
• Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane or DDT (31 letters) - Eleuterio Paje, Harbor City, California
• Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilico-volcanoconiosis (45 letters, a factitious word alleged to mean a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust) - Francis Sales, UP Diliman, QC; also Jan Andrew Zubiri, Ronald Gabriel, and Ron Gonzales
• Antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters) - Exequiel Alikpala
• Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters, appears in the Oxford English Dictionary), Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogery-chwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (58 letters, a village in Wales), or perhaps "smiles," after all, there is a mile between the first letter and the last. - Dr. Bopeep Ladrido UP Visayas, Iloilo City
• Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilico-volcanoconiosis, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogery-chwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, antidisestablishmentarianism, floccinaucinihilipilification (the estimation of something as worthless), honorificabili-tudinitatibus (appears in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost) - Gerald Chua
• We should exclude scientific words in the longest word category because they’re just concatenations of prefixes and suffixes. I still believe the longest word is what follows "a word from our sponsor." - Jesse Lao, Seattle, Washington
As of popular usage, Antidisestablish-mentarianism (a movement opposed to the separation of church and state) at 28 letters is often accepted as the best-known "longest word."
As a coined term, the word pneumonoul-tramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis at 45 letters is certainly the longest word ever to appear in a non-technical dictionary of English (Source: OED). The actual name of the disease is pneumoconiosis.
There is a 207,000+ letter word cited by the Guinness Book of Records which allegedly represents the name for human mitochondrial DNA. It’s too long to print here.
The longest word which appears in William Shakespeare’s works is the 27-letter honorificabilitudinitatibus, appearing in Love’s Labour’s Lost.
The song-title from the movie Mary Poppins "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" with 34 letters appears in several dictionaries but as a proper noun in reference to the song title. Hence it may well be dismissed as not a "real" word.
The Guinness Book of Records in 1992 (and subsequent editions) declares the "longest real word" in the English language to be floccinaucinihilipilification at 29 letters. Its usage has been recorded as far back as 1741.
Scientific naming schemes generate arbitrarily long words. According to the Guinness Book of Records, 18th edition, the scientific name for tryptophan synthetase is the longest chemical word for C1289H2051N343O375S8:
me_thionyl_glutaminyl_arginyl_tyrosylgluta-mylserylleucylphenyl_alanyl_alanyl_g-lutaminyl_leucyllysylglutamylarginyl_lysylglutam-ylglycylalanyl_phenyl_alanyl_valylprolylphen-yl_alanyl_valylthreonyl_leucylglycylaspartylp-rolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglutaminyl_serylleu-cyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonyl_leucylisoleucylgluta-mylalanyl_glycylalanyl_aspartylalanyl_leucylgluta-mylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenyl_alanyl_sery-laspartylprolylleucylalanyl_aspartylglycylprolylthreon-yl_isoleucylglutaminyl_asparaginyl_alan-yl_threonyl_leucylarginyl_alanyl_phenyl_ala-nyl_alanyl_alanyl_glycylvalylthreonyl_prolylalany-l_glutaminyl_cysteinyl_phenyl_alanyl_gluta-mylme_thionyl_leucylalanyl_leucylisoleucylargin-yl_glutaminyl_lysylhistidylprolylthreonyl_isoleucylp-rolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylme_thionyl_tyrosylalan-yl_asparaginyl_leucylvalylphenyl_alan-yl_asparaginyl_lysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutam-ylphenyl_alanyl_tyrosylalanyl_glutamin-yl_cysteinyl_glutamyllysylvalylglycy-lvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanyl_aspartylvalylp-rolylvalylglutaminyl_glutamylserylalany-l_prolylphenyl_alan-yl_arginyl_glutaminy-l_alanyl_alanyl_leucylarg-inyl_histidylasparagin-yl_valylalanyl_p-rolylisoleucylphen-yl_alanyl_isoleuc-ylcysteinyl_p-rolylprolylaspartylalan-yl_aspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginyl_gluta-minyl_isoleucylalanyl_seryltyrosylglycylarginyl_glycylty-rosylthreonyl_tyrosylleucylleucylserylargin-yl_alanyl_glycylvalylthreonyl_glycylalan-yl_glutamylasparaginyl_arginyl_alanyl_alanyl_leucylprolylle-ucylasparaginyl_histidylleucylvalylalanyl_lysylleucyllysylgluta-myltyrosylasparaginyl_alanyl_alanyl_pro-lylprolylleucylglutaminyl_glycylphenyl_ala- nyl_glycylisoleucylserylalanyl_prolylaspartylglutaminyl_- valyllysylalanyl_alanyl_isoleucylaspartylalanyl_-glycylalany_alanyl_glycylalanyl_isoleucylserylglycyls-erylalanyl_isoleucylvalyllysylisoleucylisoleucylglutamy-lglutaminyl_histidylasparaginyl_is- oleucylglutamylprolylglutamyllysylme_th-ionyl_leucylalanyl_alanyl_leucyllysylvalylphe-nyl_alanyl_valylglutaminyl_prolylme_t- hionyl_lysylalanyl_alanyl_threonyl_arginyl_serine
The longest officially recognized place name in an English-speaking country is Taumatawhakatang_ihangakoauauot_amateaturipuk-aka_pikimaunga_horonuku_pokaiwhenuak_itanatahu (85 letters), a hill in New Zealand.
A popular joke answer to the "longest word" question is the word smiles, credited as the longest word because there is a mile between each S.
According to some, the longest word is the word after the sentence "And now, a word from our sponsors".
What I should have added as a rule is that the longest word entry should be found in an average home dictionary. We will be more specific next time!
Currently, there are two major schools of thought regarding what to do during a tremblor. The "drop, cover and hold on" procedure which the American Red Cross and other American disaster agencies recommend, and finding a "triangle of safety" which disaster expert Douglas F. Copp upholds. Copp claims that those who take cover (under a table, a desk or a car) always get squashed by the object.
Tammy Licauco from Sydney Australia and Susan S. Lara, called our attention to an entry from the Urban Legends reference page at http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/triangle.asp questioning the credibility of Copp, the author of the "triangle of life" concept. Eugene Sunio, a geologist and geochemist, sent in the Red Cross stand on Copp’s "triangle of life".
Rocky Lopes, PhD, Manager, Community Disaster Education, says: "The Red Cross is not saying that identifying potential voids is wrong or inappropriate. What we are saying is that ‘Drop, Cover, and Hold On!’ is not wrong in the United States (where the building codes are stricter). The American Red Cross, being a U.S.-based organization, does not extend its recommendations to apply in other countries. What works here may not work elsewhere, so there is no dispute that the ‘void identification method’ or the ‘Triangle of Life’ may indeed be the best thing to teach in other countries where the risk of building collapse, even in moderate earthquakes, is great."
I personally believe that there is some merit to the concept of Copp because it makes scientific sense. More studies should be made on it by the proper authorities. In the meantime, it is best to read up on the safety information prepared by established earthquake safety experts such as the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"I would like to tell you that I love reading your column. More power. Mabuhay!" – Cecile Schulz, Wiesbaden, Germany
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