Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Encyclopedia
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is, according to the Oxford English Dictionary
, "a factitious word alleged to mean 'a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust, causing inflammation in the lungs. A condition meeting the word's definition is normally called silicosis
.
It occurs chiefly as an instance of a very long word. The 45-letter word was coined to serve as the longest English
word and is the longest word
ever to appear in an English language
dictionary
. It is listed in the current edition of several dictionaries.
, at its annual meeting. The word figured in the headline for an article published by the New York Herald Tribune
on February 23, 1935, titled "Puzzlers Open 103d Session Here by Recognizing 45-Letter Word":
Subsequently, the word was used in a puzzle book, Bedside Manna, after which members of the NPL campaigned to have it included in major dictionaries.
This 45-letter word, referred to as P45, first appeared in the 1939 supplement to the Merriam-Webster
New International Dictionary, Second Edition.
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
, "a factitious word alleged to mean 'a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust, causing inflammation in the lungs. A condition meeting the word's definition is normally called silicosis
Silicosis
Silicosis, also known as Potter's rot, is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust, and is marked by inflammation and scarring in forms of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs...
.
It occurs chiefly as an instance of a very long word. The 45-letter word was coined to serve as the longest English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word and is the longest word
Longest word in English
The identity of the longest word in English depends upon the definition of what constitutes a word in the English language, as well as how length should be compared...
ever to appear in an English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
. It is listed in the current edition of several dictionaries.
Coinage
This word was invented in 1935 by Everett M. Smith, president of the National Puzzlers' LeagueNational Puzzlers' League
The National Puzzlers' League is a nonprofit organization focused on puzzling, primarily in the realm of word play and word games. Founded in 1883, it is the oldest puzzlers' organization in the world...
, at its annual meeting. The word figured in the headline for an article published by the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
on February 23, 1935, titled "Puzzlers Open 103d Session Here by Recognizing 45-Letter Word":
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis succeeded electrophotomicrographically as the longest word in the English language recognized by the National Puzzlers' League at the opening session of the organization's 103rd semi-annual meeting held yesterday at the Hotel New Yorker. The puzzlers explained that the forty-five-letter word is the name of a special form of silicosis caused by ultra-microscopic particles of silica volcanic dust...
Subsequently, the word was used in a puzzle book, Bedside Manna, after which members of the NPL campaigned to have it included in major dictionaries.
This 45-letter word, referred to as P45, first appeared in the 1939 supplement to the Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster
Merriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language .Merriam-Webster Inc. has been a...
New International Dictionary, Second Edition.
Cultural references
- In a 1965 episode of I've Got a SecretI've Got a SecretI've Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?...
, Buddy HackettBuddy HackettBuddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
unrolls a banner with the word on it and has the panel try to pronounce it. - "Floccinaucinihilipilification," the second of IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
composer David FlynnDavid FlynnDavid Flynn is an Irish composer and musician with a number of major awards and commissions to his name. His recent music is noteworthy for merging the influence of traditional Irish music with contemporary classical music and jazz...
's "Two Nonsense Songs," ends with the word sung in a mock operatic cadenza style. - The word often appears in books or stories as a comically long word, e.g. Grampa vs. Sexual InadequacyGrampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy"Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" is the tenth television episode of The Simpsons sixth season. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on December 4, 1994. In the episode, Marge and Homer's sex life is struggling, but Grampa perks things up with a homemade revitalizing tonic...
(an episode of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
), Abraham Simpson asks Homer whether pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is what's wrong with Marge; a cartoon episode of Rocket PowerRocket PowerRocket Power is an American animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon.-Premise:Rocket Power involves the daily situations of a group of best friends named Oswald "Otto" Rocket, Regina "Reggie" Rocket, Maurice "Twister" Rodriguez, and Sam "Squid" Dullard, as they live in the fictional...
, in which a dimwitted character named Twister successfully spells the word on his spelling test; "High School Musical 2: What's What Edition" refers to this as the longest word.
See also
- AntidisestablishmentarianismAntidisestablishmentarianismAntidisestablishmentarianism is a political position that originated in 19th-century Britain in opposition to proposals for the disestablishment of the Church of England, that is, to remove the Anglican Church's status as the state church of England, Ireland, and Wales.The establishment was...
- ChargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamauggLake ChaubunagungamaugLake Chaubunagungamaug, also known as Webster Lake, is a lake in the town of Webster, Massachusetts, United States. It is located near the Connecticut border and has a surface area of .-Name:...
- LlanfairpwllgwyngyllLlanfairpwllgwyngyllLlanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is a large village and community on the island of Anglesey in Wales, situated on the Menai Strait next to the Britannia Bridge and across the strait from Bangor. This village has the longest place name in Europe and one of the longest...
gogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch - Longest word in EnglishLongest word in EnglishThe identity of the longest word in English depends upon the definition of what constitutes a word in the English language, as well as how length should be compared...
- TaumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahuTaumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahuTaumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is the Māori name for a hill, high, close to Porangahau, south of Waipukurau in southern Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.The name is often shortened to Taumata...
- SupercalifragilisticexpialidociousSupercalifragilisticexpialidociousSupercalifragilisticexpialidocious is an English word, with 34 letters, that was in the song with the same title in the 1964 Disney musical film Mary Poppins. The song was written by the Sherman Brothers, and sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke...