I don't know about you, but I've had to struggle to get through this week. It seemed endlessly long. But I did it and Friday is once again here. Can I just say, "Yippee!?" But before I fold up my blogger's tent for a couple of days, here's what I have in store for you today.
Words. I write plenty of them every day. As a blogger and author, I love words and consider myself to be a pretty decent wordsmith. I know quite a few big words but I wondered if I knew them all, so I did a little research and found the longest words in the English language. See how many you know.
1. If you grew up in the 60's or 70's, you probably know this word; Antidisestablishmentarianism. Whew! That's a mouthful. It's a noun and means opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England. The word originated in 19th century England and is now used to refer to any opposition to a government withdrawing support from a religious. While it's used much in conversation, there was a song written about it, Duke Ellington's “You’re Just an Old Antidisestablishmentarianist.”
2. This next one was new to me. Floccinaucinihilipilification is a noun that means the act of defining something as worthless. This word stems from the combination of four Latin words, all of which signify that something has little value: flocci, nauci, nihili, pilifi. This style of word creation was popular in Britain in the 1700s.
3. This next one is a doozy! Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Holy Cow! I had to double check a couple of times to make sure I got the spelling right. I can pretty much assure you that you'll never see this word in another of my blogs. It's an invented word to describe a lung disease caused by inhaling a fine dust. I'm thinking "dusty lung disease" might have been easier, But what do I know, eh? In case you want to use it in a sentence, it's a noun. This word emerged in the late 1930s and was said to be invented by Everett K. Smith. It's not a real word and isn't used in the medical word.
4. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is an inherited medical disorder. This genetic disorder causes “short stature, round face, and short hand bones, according to the National Institute of Health. Despite having a similar name, it is not the same as pseudohypoparathyroidism. I guess because it's missing an extra "pseudo" in there.
5. Many of the longest English words belong to the medical profession. No surprise there! The next word is psychoneuroendocrinological. This biggie is an adjective and it means "of or related to to the branch of science concerned with the relationships between psychology, the nervous system, and the endocrine system." It was first seen in a 1970's Journal of Neurological Science.
6. The definition of psychophysicotherapeutics is a therapeutic approach that integrates both the mind and body. It's used as a noun. The Oxford Dictionary doesn't give a definition for this word but does list it as one of the longest words in the English language.
And finally,
7. Do you have a fear of long words? I didn't think I did until I started writing this blog! It turns out that many folks suffer from this phobia and it's known as hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. That word in itself could give you nightmares! This word is most often used in humorous contexts. It is an extension of the word sesquipedalophobia, which has the same meaning and is more often used in a formal context.
It's early in the morning here and already my brain hurts from trying to type all those long words, correctly. How many of them do you know? If it's more than two, then you're way ahead of me.
I hope you'll get to spend some time outside this weekend. The fall weather makes it perfect for viewing fall foliage which should be at its peak this weekend. Or, maybe you'd rather spend a little time meandering around a pumpkin patch looking for your perfect specimen. Whatever fall weekend activities you've got planned, have fun and stay safe. I hope to see you back here on Monday. Until then,
PEACE.
Words. I write plenty of them every day. As a blogger and author, I love words and consider myself to be a pretty decent wordsmith. I know quite a few big words but I wondered if I knew them all, so I did a little research and found the longest words in the English language. See how many you know.
1. If you grew up in the 60's or 70's, you probably know this word; Antidisestablishmentarianism. Whew! That's a mouthful. It's a noun and means opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England. The word originated in 19th century England and is now used to refer to any opposition to a government withdrawing support from a religious. While it's used much in conversation, there was a song written about it, Duke Ellington's “You’re Just an Old Antidisestablishmentarianist.”
2. This next one was new to me. Floccinaucinihilipilification is a noun that means the act of defining something as worthless. This word stems from the combination of four Latin words, all of which signify that something has little value: flocci, nauci, nihili, pilifi. This style of word creation was popular in Britain in the 1700s.
3. This next one is a doozy! Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Holy Cow! I had to double check a couple of times to make sure I got the spelling right. I can pretty much assure you that you'll never see this word in another of my blogs. It's an invented word to describe a lung disease caused by inhaling a fine dust. I'm thinking "dusty lung disease" might have been easier, But what do I know, eh? In case you want to use it in a sentence, it's a noun. This word emerged in the late 1930s and was said to be invented by Everett K. Smith. It's not a real word and isn't used in the medical word.
4. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is an inherited medical disorder. This genetic disorder causes “short stature, round face, and short hand bones, according to the National Institute of Health. Despite having a similar name, it is not the same as pseudohypoparathyroidism. I guess because it's missing an extra "pseudo" in there.
5. Many of the longest English words belong to the medical profession. No surprise there! The next word is psychoneuroendocrinological. This biggie is an adjective and it means "of or related to to the branch of science concerned with the relationships between psychology, the nervous system, and the endocrine system." It was first seen in a 1970's Journal of Neurological Science.
6. The definition of psychophysicotherapeutics is a therapeutic approach that integrates both the mind and body. It's used as a noun. The Oxford Dictionary doesn't give a definition for this word but does list it as one of the longest words in the English language.
And finally,
7. Do you have a fear of long words? I didn't think I did until I started writing this blog! It turns out that many folks suffer from this phobia and it's known as hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. That word in itself could give you nightmares! This word is most often used in humorous contexts. It is an extension of the word sesquipedalophobia, which has the same meaning and is more often used in a formal context.
It's early in the morning here and already my brain hurts from trying to type all those long words, correctly. How many of them do you know? If it's more than two, then you're way ahead of me.
I hope you'll get to spend some time outside this weekend. The fall weather makes it perfect for viewing fall foliage which should be at its peak this weekend. Or, maybe you'd rather spend a little time meandering around a pumpkin patch looking for your perfect specimen. Whatever fall weekend activities you've got planned, have fun and stay safe. I hope to see you back here on Monday. Until then,
PEACE.
Bussing, Kimberly Anne. "13 of the Longest Words in the English Language." ThoughtCo, Sep. 24, 2018, thoughtco.com/longest-words-english-language-4175801.
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