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Some of the Longest Words in English Language

By VJ
Here is a list of some terribly long words in English language that have existed at some point of time in history.

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters): Name of a lung disease. It is supposed to be a disease that is caused by the inhalation of fine silica dust.

Osseocarnisanguineoviscericartilaginonervomedullary (51) and Osteosarchaematosplanchnochondroneuromuelous (44): Thomas Love Peacock invented both these words through his satirical novel Headlong Hall. The words mean 'related to human features like bone, flesh, organs, etc.'

Praetertranssubstantiationalistically (37): A word first used by Mark McShane.

Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic (52): First used by Dr Edward Strother.

Floccinaucinihilipilification (29): Describing something as 'worthless'.

Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (30): A gene mutation disease.

Antidisestablishmentarianism (28): A political situation in Britain in the late 19th century.

Honorificabilitudinitatibus (27): This is described as the state of achieving honors. Some sources believe this is the longest word used by Shakespeare.

Besides these, there are huge words which go above 200 letters. And one, which is whopping 189,000-letter long.

by Lenin Nair [Thanks to Sources: AskOxford, Wikipedia, and others]

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  1. AnonymousDecember 27, 2008 at 6:38 PM

    Just thought I'd add this to your very interesting and informative post:

    Two chemical terms (3,641 and 1,913 letters long) have appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records. They were withdrawn because they have never been used by chemists, and there is no theoretical limit to the length of possible legitimate chemical terms. A DNA molecule could have a name of over 1,000,000,000 letters if it was written out in full.
    (1,185) ACETYL­SERYL­TYROSYL­SERYL­ISO­LEUCYL­THREONYL­SERYL­PROLYL­SERYL­GLUTAMINYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­VALYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­LEUCYL­SERYL­SERYL­VALYL­TRYPTOPHYL­ALANYL­ASPARTYL­PROLYL­ISOLEUCYL­GLUTAMYL­LEUCYL­LEUCYL­ASPARAGINYL­VALYL­CYSTEINYL­THREONYL­SERYL­SERYL­LEUCYL­GLYCYL­ASPARAGINYL­GLUTAMINYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­GLUTAMINYL­THREONYL­GLUTAMINYL­GLUTAMINYL­ALANYL­ARGINYL­THREONYL­THREONYL­GLUTAMINYL­VALYL­GLUTAMINYL­GLUTAMINYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­SERYL­GLUTAMINYL­VALYL­TRYPTOPHYL­LYSYL­PROLYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­PROLYL­GLUTAMINYL­SERYL­THREONYL­VALYL­ARGINYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­PROLYL­GLYCYL­ASPARTYL­VALYL­TYROSYL­LYSYL­VALYL­TYROSYL­ARGINYL­TYROSYL­ASPARAGINYL­ALANYL­VALYL­LEUCYL­ASPARTYL­PROLYL­LEUCYL­ISOLEUCYL­THREONYL­ALANYL­LEUCYL­LEUCYL­GLYCYL­THREONYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­ASPARTYL­THREONYL­ARGINYL­ASPARAGINYL­ARGINYL­ISOLEUCYL­ISOLEUCYL­GLUTAMYL­VALYL­GLUTAMYL­ASPARAGINYL­GLUTAMINYL­GLUTAMINYL­SERYL­PROLYL­THREONYL­THREONYL­ALANYL­GLUTAMYL­THREONYL­LEUCYL­ASPARTYL­ALANYL­THREONYL­ARGINYL­ARGINYL­VALYL­ASPARTYL­ASPARTYL­ALANYL­THREONYL­VALYL­ALANYL­ISOLEUCYL­ARGINYL­SERYL­ALANYL­ASPARAGINYL­ISOLEUCYL­ASPARAGINYL­LEUCYL­VALYL­ASPARAGINYL­GLUTAMYL­LEUCYL­VALYL­ARGINYL­GLYCYL­THREONYL­GLYCYL­LEUCYL­TYROSYL­ASPARAGINYL­GLUTAMINYL­ASPARAGINYL­THREONYL­PHENYL­ALANYL­GLUTAMYL­SERYL­METHIONYL­SERYL­GLYCYL­LEUCYL­VALYL­TRYPTOPHYL­THREONYL­SERYL­ALANYL­PROLYL­ALANYL­SERINE = Tobacco Mosaic Virus, Dahlemense Strain.
    This word has appeared in the American Chemical Society's Chemical Abstracts and is thus considered by some to be the longest real word.

    Thanks,
    Henie
    www.HennArtOnLine.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. VJDecember 27, 2008 at 7:19 PM

    Wow, Henie, that's a lot of letters. Thanks for the comment.

    ReplyDelete

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