hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian
English
Etymology
An extension of sesquipedalian using a modified form of hippopotamus and Latin monstrum; the extensions almost certainly chosen with the intention of making the new construct autological.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌhɪpəˌpɒtəˌmɒnstɹəˌsɛskwɪpɪˈdeɪlɪən/
Audio (US, Northern California) (file) Audio (US, Kansas) (file)
Adjective
hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian (comparative more hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian, superlative most hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian)
- Of or pertaining to extremely long words[1].
- 1997, Steven George Krantz, A primer of mathematical writing
- To indulge in hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian tergiversation is not to show your erudition: rather, it is to be superficial.
- 2005, Greg Vaughn, Fred Holmes, Letters from Dad
- And when it comes to language, short, simple words often have more impact and power than multisyllabic, hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian ones.
- 2006, Richard Lederer, Word Wizard: Super Bloopers, Rich Reflections, and Other Acts of Word Magic
- ...a forty-five-letter hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian word for black lung disease.
- 1997, Steven George Krantz, A primer of mathematical writing
Related terms
References
- “hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian” in Mrs. Byrne [Josefa Heifetz Byrne], Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Preposterous Words: Gathered from Numerous and Diverse Authoritative Sources, London: Granada Publishing, 1979, →ISBN.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.