According to my falling-apart, 1946 edition of Ripley's Believe it or Not, the longest word in the English language is this:
orniscopytheobibliopsychocrystarroscioaerogenethliometeoroaustrohieroanthropoichthyopyrosiderochpnomyoalectryoophiobotanopegohydrorhabdocrithoaleuroalphitohalomolybdoclerobeioaxinocoscinodactyliogeolithopessopsephocatoptrotephraoneirochiroonychodactyloarithstichooxogeloscogastrogyrocerobletonocenoscapulinaniac*
According to Mr. Ripley:
"The long word of 310 letters was used as a means of demonstrating: 1. The extent to which even the English language is capable of forming enormous word monsters, and, 2. The whole field of superstitious divinatory practices which are as old as humanity.
"The literal translation of the long word is 'A deluded human who practices divination or forecasting by means of phenomena, interpretation of acts or other manifestations related to the following animate or inanimate objects and appearances: birds, oracles, Bible, ghosts, crystal gazing, shadows, air appearances, birth, stars, meteors, winds, sacrificial appearances, entrails of humans and fishes, fire, red-hot irons, altar smoke, mice, grain picking by rooster, snakes, herbs, fountains, water, wands, dough, meal, barley, salt, lead, dice, arrows, hatchet balance, sieve, ring suspension, random dots, precious stones, pebbles, pebble heaps, mirrors, ash writing, dreams, palmistry, nail rays, finger rings, numbers, book passages, name letterings, laughing manners, ventriloquism, circle walking, wax, susceptibility to hidden springs, wine, and shoulder blades.'
"Various monastic authors of the Middle Ages writing on the subject of human superstition have actually used such a long word with a slightly varying sequence of items."
***
Wikipedia disagrees: here.
While my contemporary edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable has a nicely assembled discussion on the subject of long words, the online 1898 edition is yet informative (here).
However, longestwordinenglish.wordpress.com, pretty much wipes out Mr. Ripley's claim, though it's claim as a "real" word is more dubious that Ripley's. Of course if we can just jam together a bunch of Latin roots and call it a word, why not a bunch of English bits and pieces? Is there a difference?
And really, what's the point? I mean, aside from the utter fun factor! If a "word" is never going to be used aside from the moment of its conception, then what is it really?
***
* Somehow (go figure) there are 311 letters in my transcription of the word. Not that I'm particularly worried about it. longestwords.wordpress.com seems to agree with me (here).
*
orniscopytheobibliopsychocrystarroscioaerogenethliometeoroaustrohieroanthropoichthyopyrosiderochpnomyoalectryoophiobotanopegohydrorhabdocrithoaleuroalphitohalomolybdoclerobeioaxinocoscinodactyliogeolithopessopsephocatoptrotephraoneirochiroonychodactyloarithstichooxogeloscogastrogyrocerobletonocenoscapulinaniac*
According to Mr. Ripley:
"The long word of 310 letters was used as a means of demonstrating: 1. The extent to which even the English language is capable of forming enormous word monsters, and, 2. The whole field of superstitious divinatory practices which are as old as humanity."The literal translation of the long word is 'A deluded human who practices divination or forecasting by means of phenomena, interpretation of acts or other manifestations related to the following animate or inanimate objects and appearances: birds, oracles, Bible, ghosts, crystal gazing, shadows, air appearances, birth, stars, meteors, winds, sacrificial appearances, entrails of humans and fishes, fire, red-hot irons, altar smoke, mice, grain picking by rooster, snakes, herbs, fountains, water, wands, dough, meal, barley, salt, lead, dice, arrows, hatchet balance, sieve, ring suspension, random dots, precious stones, pebbles, pebble heaps, mirrors, ash writing, dreams, palmistry, nail rays, finger rings, numbers, book passages, name letterings, laughing manners, ventriloquism, circle walking, wax, susceptibility to hidden springs, wine, and shoulder blades.'
"Various monastic authors of the Middle Ages writing on the subject of human superstition have actually used such a long word with a slightly varying sequence of items."
***
Wikipedia disagrees: here.
While my contemporary edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable has a nicely assembled discussion on the subject of long words, the online 1898 edition is yet informative (here).
However, longestwordinenglish.wordpress.com, pretty much wipes out Mr. Ripley's claim, though it's claim as a "real" word is more dubious that Ripley's. Of course if we can just jam together a bunch of Latin roots and call it a word, why not a bunch of English bits and pieces? Is there a difference?
And really, what's the point? I mean, aside from the utter fun factor! If a "word" is never going to be used aside from the moment of its conception, then what is it really?
***
* Somehow (go figure) there are 311 letters in my transcription of the word. Not that I'm particularly worried about it. longestwords.wordpress.com seems to agree with me (here).
*
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