Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (/ˌnjuːmənoʊˌʌltrəˌmaɪkrəˈskɒpɪkˌsɪlɪkoʊvɒlˌkeɪnoʊˌkoʊniˈoʊsɪs/ (listen)[1][2]) is a word coined by the then president of the National Puzzlers' League, Everett M. Smith, as a synonym for the disease known as silicosis. It is the longest word in the English language published in a dictionary, Oxford Dictionaries, which defines it as "an artificial long word said to mean a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine volcanic dust".[3]

Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust, and is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneumoconiosis and is known in the United Kingdom as black lung. The word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis was created in 1935.

Etymology

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is the longest word in the English language. The word can be analysed like this:

  1. Pneumono: from ancient Greek (pneúmōn) which means lungs
  2. ultra: from Latin, meaning beyond
  3. micro and scopic: from ancient Greek, meaning small looking, referring to the fineness of particulates
  4. silico-: from Latin, silicon, referring to silicate dust
  5. volcano: from Latin, referring to volcanic dust
  6. coni: from ancient Greek (kónis) which means dust
  7. -osis: from ancient Greek, suffix to indicate a medical condition

This word was invented in the daily meeting of the National Puzzlers' League (N.P.L.) by its president Everett M. Smith. The word featured in the headline for an article published by the New York Herald Tribune on February 23, 1935, titled "Puzzlers Open 103rd Session Here by Recognizing 45-Letter Word":[4]

"Pneumono­ultra­microscopic­silico­volcano­coniosis succeeded electrophotomicrographically as the longest word in the English language recognized by the National Puzzlers' League at the opening session of the organization's 103rd semi-annual meeting held yesterday at the Hotel New Yorker. The puzzlers explained that the forty-five-letter word is the synonym of a special form of pneumoconiosis caused by ultra-microscopic particles of silica volcanic dust..."

— As quoted from New York Herald Tribune[5] in reference[4]

Subsequently, the word was used in Frank Scully's puzzle book Bedside Manna, after which time, members of the N.P.L. campaigned to include the word in major dictionaries.[6][7]

This 45-letter word, referred to as "P45",[8] first appeared in the 1939 supplement to the Merriam-Webster New International Dictionary, Second Edition.[9]

See also
Look up pneumono… in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • Llanfair­pwllgwyngyllgogery­chwyrndrobwll­llan­tysiliogogogoch
  • Antidisestablishmentarianism
  • Coalworker's pneumoconiosis
  • Floccinaucinihilipilification
  • Health hazards of vog
  • Honorificabilitudinitatibus
  • List of long place names
  • Longest word in English
  • Longest words
  • Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
  • Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

References
  1. "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
  2. "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis". Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
  3. "Definition of pneumono­ultra­microscopic­silico­volcano­coniosis in Oxford dictionary (British and World English)". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19.
  4. Rochlin, Dara (2016-04-20). "Word Wednesday: Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis". Dara Rochlin Book Doctor. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  5. Staff (1935-02-23). "Puzzlers Open 103rd Session Here by Recognizing 45-Letter Word". New York Herald Tribune.
  6. Cole, Chris (1999). Wordplay, A Curious Dictionary of Language Oddities. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. pp. 106–107. ISBN 0-8069-1797-0.
  7. Miller, D. Gary (2014). English Lexicogenesis. Oxford University Press. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-19-968988-0.
  8. Cole, Chris (1989). "The Biggest Hoax". Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics. Archived from the original on 2014-08-10. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
  9. Miller, Jeff (2017-12-24). "A collection of word oddities and trivia: page 11, long words". A Collection of Word Oddities and Trivia. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.