what`s the longest word that you know?
By delkar
@delkar (1712)
Romania
5 responses
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
14 Mar 09
Try this one for size: "Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch" it is actually the name of a very small village in Wales (and I defy you to pronounce it!)
It actually means "St Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave"
The title of the most HIPPOPOTOMONSTROSESQUIPEDALIAN word (though it's not in the dictionary) must be the name of a very large protein (and is therefore a 'coined' word). If I quoted it here it would play havoc with the width of the page, since it is reputed to have 189,819 letters. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titin )
The longest word in a major dictionary (several, actually) is "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" which means 'silicosis derived from breathing the very fine particles of volcanic dust'. It appears to be a 'hoax' word, made up specifically to be the longest word. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis )
2 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
14 Mar 09
I believe that one usually passes through it on the train. I have heard that it takes 24 minutes for the train to pass the name board (this may be due, however, to the necessity of pausing while tourists have their photograph taken).
@isabella123 (688)
• Canada
14 Mar 09
There is some debate as to whether a place name is a legitimate word,but the longest officially recognized placename in a English-speaking country is"Taumatawhakatangihangakuauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahurunukupokaiwhenuakitanatanul"(85 letters)witch is a hill in New zealand.
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
14 Mar 09
It apparently means: "The summit of the hill, where Tamatea, who is known as the land eater, slid down, climbed up and swallowed mountains, played on his nose flute to his loved one."
http://www.fun-with-words.com/word_longest.html
1 person likes this
@underdogtoo (9579)
• Philippines
14 Mar 09
That is a long word and I'm not even sure I would want to say it for fear of offending somebody. There are many scientific words or words that mean parts of the anatomy and they are long because they are formed from many different words in the effort to make them more descriptive or relevant. I can see "sternum" and "mastoid" in your word which would suggest to me the location of your bone and btw, "mastoid" would be a soft bone. Cheers!!
@onedaysoon (651)
• United States
14 Mar 09
Hey, no fair! I was going to post that word. It was the first word I thought of when I read the question. 
1 person likes this
