Sunday, April 25, 2010

the longest word in major dictionaries

The longest word in any of the major English language dictionaries is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a word that refers to a lung disease contracted from the inhalation of very fine silica particles, specifically from a volcano. Research has discovered that this word was originally a hoax; medically, it is the same as silicosis. It has since been used in a close approximation of its originally intended meaning, lending at least some degree of validity to its claim.[2]
The Oxford English Dictionary contains pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism(30 letters).
The longest non-technical word in major dictionaries is flocci nauci nihili pili fication at 29 letters. Consisting of a series of Latin words meaning "nothing" and defined as "the act of estimating something as worthless"; its usage has been recorded as far back as 1741.

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