The Longest Word: Step Aside, Antidisestablishmentarianism

Humans have a fascination with setting records. Apparently, their pleasure comes from the pleasant psychological effects of elevated dopamine levels. People are compelled to compare their own attributes to others, as in “I can jump, run, sing, laugh, hold my breath farther, faster, higher, louder, longer.” All sorts of sporting events draw fans who cheer and bet on the scores of the best teams and the stats of the best players. The Olympics continue to fascinate people and build pride. Yes, people like to win, but they also like to learn about other people who are winners.

It follows, then, that the best-selling copyrighted book of all time, published each year since 1955, is the Guinness World Records. It is chock full of such things as the fastest runner, the longest snake, the tallest man, the oldest woman, and the highest mountain. It was originally researched and written to settle the many debates that occurred nightly in clubs and pubs across Great Britain. In recent years, the book of records is published in over 22 languages and can boast of several offshoot volumes. (Note: the bestselling book of all times ever is The Bible, followed by the books honored by other religions and philosophies.)


Classroom life is also characterized by opportunities to determine first place. Throughout American history, students have participated in spelling bees, multiplication speed tests, and athletic challenges of all sorts, including jump-rope endurance. It should not be a surprise, then, that teachers have been able to intrigue their students by learning about the longest word. In the mid- 20th century, they learned how to say and spell a word that, despite its obscure meaning for most kids, was fun to know--antidisestablishmentarianism. Eager learners could brag to friends and family that they not only could SAY the word, but could also spell it.

As years rolled by, and other influences came along, a new longest word assumed its position as a word to be admired and bragged about. The word came into usage during the 1960s, from the song lyrics made popular by the musical, Mary Poppins. The word was actually very enjoyable-- supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!


Decades later, however, those words have lost their stellar standing and dropped to lower rankings. The a- word is the seventh-longest at 28 letters, the s- word is probably the third-longest with 34 letters. Instead, the top spot is held by a 45-letter word that was created by an individual to make fun of long scientific words. He was the President of the National Puzzlers League. Since the word is not in general use, its honored place might be rather precarious. It is a complex string of syllables that indicate a lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust (aka black lung disease). As with all other complex words, it’s good to break it into syllables to make sense and then blend them together for pronunciation. The word is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicavcolcanoconiosis (pneumono . . .ultra. . .microscopic . . . silica . . . volcano . . . coniosis).


Readers can decide if they want to learn it or not. Truth be told, this writer has greater affection for the word that resides in the Number Two spot according to the Berlitz site
https://www.berlitz.com/blog/longest-word-english. The word is hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia. It means a fear of long words!


Those who wish to pursue their affection for long words may want to consult the Berlitz link to learn more, including some juicy details about the longest computer-generated word or discover that the longest one-syllable word is well-known and one in common use. 
 
Submitted by Greta Nagel, PhD
MOTAL President and CEO