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. In addition to words derived naturally from the language's roots (without any known intentional invention), English allows new words to be formed by coinage and construction; place names may be considered words; technical terms may be arbitrarily long. Length may be understood in terms of orthography and number of written letters, or (less commonly) phonology and the number of phonemes.
| Word | Letters | Characteristics | Dispute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl...isoleucine | 189,819 | Chemical name of titin, the largest known protein | Technical; not in dictionary; disputed whether it is a word |
| Methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamyl...serine | 1,909 | Longest published word | Technical |
| Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsano...pterygon | 183 | Longest word coined by a major author, the longest word ever to appear in literature. | Coined; not in dictionary; Ancient Greek transliteration |
| Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis | 45 | Longest word in a major dictionary | Technical; coined to be the longest word |
| Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious | 34 | Famous for being created for the Mary Poppins film and musical | Coined |
| Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism | 30 | Longest non-coined word in a major dictionary | Technical |
| Floccinaucinihilipilification | 29 | Longest unchallenged nontechnical word | Coined |
| Antidisestablishmentarianism | 28 | Longest non-coined and nontechnical word | |
| Honorificabilitudinitatibus | 27 | Longest word in Shakespeare's works; longest word in the English language featuring alternating consonants and vowels. | Latin |
Read more about Longest Word In English: Major Dictionaries, Coinages, Constructions, Technical Terms, Place Names, Words With Certain Characteristics of Notable Length, Humour
Famous quotes containing the words longest, word and/or english:
“A bill... is the most extraordinary locomotive engine that the genius of man ever produced. It would keep on running during the longest lifetime, without ever once stopping of its own accord.”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
“Children show scars like medals. Lovers use them as secrets to reveal. A scar is what happens when the word is made flesh.”
—Leonard Cohen (b. 1934)
“The apparent rulers of the English nation are like the imposing personages of a splendid procession: it is by them the mob are influenced; it is they whom the spectators cheer. The real rulers are secreted in second-rate carriages; no one cares for them or asks after them, but they are obeyed implicitly and unconsciously by reason of the splendour of those who eclipsed and preceded them.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)