Sesquipedalians

Did you know that every word in every language is either homological or heterological? A homological word is one that instantiates its own meaning. A heterological word is one that does not. Thus, the word English is homological because it is an English word, and the word polysyllabic likewise, since it consists of more than one syllable. The word Chinese, on the other hand, is heterological, since it is not a Chinese word. And the same for the word adjective, since it is a noun. The word "sesquipedalian", literally meaning "one and a half feet long" (which I will call a sequip for short, although it seems to defeat the purpose) denotes a lengthy word. It was given an extension by Mrs. Brown's Dictionary, forming the new word hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian, meaning a word that is inordinately long. This word is yet to be enter common usage but has nevertheless added another member to the exclusive canon of homological words. NOTE: For an intriguing aside on heterologicality, see the Addendum at the foot of this page.
This page, as you may have gathered, is devoted to exhibiting some long words in English. Since everybody likes to indulge in peppering their conversation with some jawbreakers, it is not entirely surprising that this should become a popular topic. Most of the words featured here, however, would sound ungratifyingly pretentious if used in conversation and would cause a suffusing stain of sapience to spread across the pages of any English essay they were to feature in. Verbivores beware! Long words in this page fall into four categories: literary coinages are covered in Neologisms, which is followed by Medical Terminology, Chemical Nomenclature, and rounded off with Miscellaneous Sesquips.
NEOLOGISMS
The longest word created for a literary purpose appears in Aristophanes' play The Ecclusiase. When transliterated from the Greek to the Roman alphabet, it swells from 170 to 182 letters. Describing a meal made from leftovers, the word assimilates all 17 ingredients: Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranoleipsanodrimhypotrim- matisylphioparaomelitokatakechymenokischlepikossy- phophattoperristeralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleio- lagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon. In the process of stretching the capabilities of language to its breaking point in Finnegan's Wake, novelist James Joyce seems to have done just that and decided that English was not sufficient to allow him full scope for expression, and so the enfant terrible of Modernism made up his own set of 100-letter words (giving a whole new meaning to the term logocentric). This one represents the sound of breaking glass: Klikkaklakkaklaskakloplatzklatschabbattacreepy- crottygraddaghsemmihsamminouithapluddyapladdy- pkonpkot. Joyce was perhaps taking his cue from some literary Titans that came before him, for Shakespeare was not averse to coining verbal behemoths, though it must be admitted, with considerably more style and pronouncability. The following 27-letter word, an adjective meaning "with honourableness" appears in Act V, Scene I of Love's Labour's Lost, and is an extension of the now-defunct Elizabethan sesquip honorificabilitudinity: Honoroficabilitudinitatibus. NOTE: An interesting aside on this word is that, for a time, it played a part in the Shake 'n' Bacon dispute (i.e, was Francis Bacon really Shakespeare?). The reason is that the sesquip is an anagram of the latin "Hi ludi F. Baconis nati tuiti orbi", which means "These works, born of F. Bacon, are preserved for the world". Staying with drama, among the longest words ever spoken on stage by an actor appear in a farce written in 1743 by Henry Carey. The play opens with the line: "Aldiborontiphoscophornio! Where left thou Chrononhotlonthologos?" The play's title was only marginally less ridiculous: "Chrononhotonthologos, the Most Tragic Tragedy ever Tragedized by a Company of Tragedians". (We get the point.) A 51-letter adjective coined by Thomas Love Peacock to describe the structure of the human body appears in his novel Headlong Hall. Doubtless many of the individual parts used to synthesise the word will be familiar to you. Osseocarnisanguineovsicericartilaginonervo meduallry. And finally, the 34-letter word that every sciolistsic child loves to flaunt. And why not? Meaning simply "super", and appearing in the film Mary Poppins, here is the correct spelling of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
MEDICAL TERMINOLGY
PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOL- CANOCONIOSIS, at 45 letters, can claim to be the longest word to be found in any English dictionary. It describes a miner's lung disease, consisting of a pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of a very fine silicate or quartz dust. Dysmorphosteopalinklasy (23 letters) describes the process of refracturing a bone that has healed with a deformity. Cholangiopancreatography (24 letters) describes an examination of the pancreas using fibreoptics. Syngenesiotransplation (25 letters). A graft of tissue between two closely realted individuals. Cystoureteropyelonephritis (26 letters). A combined inflammation of the urinary bladder, uretrus, and kidneys. Encephalomyeloradiculoneuritis (30 letters). A syndrome casued by a virus associated with encephalitis. Hepaticococholangiocholecystenterostomy (37 letters). A surgical creation of a connection between the gallbaldder and a hepatic duct and between the intestine and the gallbladder. Also the longest word appearing in Gould's Medical Dictionary. Uvulapalatopharangoplasty (25 letters) is a curiosity that deserves mention as it is the longest word not containing an e, the most commonly occurring letter in the English language. It describes a surgical procedure involving patients with advanced sleep apnea, whereby the breathing passage is opened by removing the uvula, shortening the palate and removing the tonsils.
CHEMICAL NOMENCLATURE
The field of chemistry can lay claim to the record of having not only the longest word ever printed (1,913 letters, and it appears at the end of this section) but also the longest word ever conceived (but never put in print). This latter giant, consisting of 3,641 letters (and describing a bovine NADP-specific glutamate dehydrogenase, which contains 500 amino acids, fact fans!) has little claim to legitemacy as an actual word, however, as it was "artificially" constructed by logophiliacs attempting to deliberately assemble a verbal monstrosity. It is little wonder that they turned to the world of chemistry, as it has in the past proved a prolific generator of sesquipedalians, as this section is testament to. Anhydroxyprogesterone (26 letters) is a synthetic crystalline female sex hormone. Octamethylpyrophosphoramide (27 letters). An insecticide. Hyrdoxydesoxycorticosterone (27 letters). Another crystalline steroid hormone. Ethylenediamenetetraacetate (27 letters). A type of acidic salt. Trinitrophenylmethynitramine (29 letters). A liquid explosive. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (31 letters) is the full name for DDT. The Big Methylinchilada: Comprising 1,913 letters, this is the largest word ever put into print. It is the full title of the protein tryptophan synthetase, and I can assure you that my hyphenation of it for the purposes of fitting it onto this page was quite arbitrary. Don't go near a spell checker or a search engine with this one: Methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucyl- phenylalanylalanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylargin- yllysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolylphenyl- alanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylis- oleucylglutamylglutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylas- partylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanylglycylal- anylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucyl prolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylas- partylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylglutaminylaspara- ginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylal- anylalanylglycylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminyl- cysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionylleucylalanyll- eucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthre- onylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyl- tyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylvalylphenylalanylaspara- ginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanylt- yrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylgly- cylvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalyl- prolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylpheny- lalanylarginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidy- lasparaginylvalylalanylprolylisoleucylphenylalanylisol- eucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylaspartylas- partylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleu- cylalanylseryltyrosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthre- onyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycylvaly- lthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalany- lalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidylleucylvaly- lalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginylalany- lalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalany- lglycylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylval- yllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylglycylalany- lalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisol- eucylvalyllysylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhis- tidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylprolylglutamyllysyl- methionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenylalany- lvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthre- onylarginylserine. Pharmacy, one: Joyce, nil.
MISCELLANEOUS SESQUIPS
The following collection of one-and-a-half-footers actually contains one or two words that could conceivably and inconspicuously be used in conversation. Antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters) is commonly cited as the longest word in the English langauge. Now you know better. It refers to the opposition to the removal of state support from the church. It can be lengthened by adding the prefixes pseudo- and ultra-. Antitransubstantiationalist (27 letters) describes the doctrine of disbelief in the consecration. Comiconomenclaturist (20 letters). A person who collects amusing names. Disproportionableness (21 letters) A tendency to be out of proportion. Gynotikolobomassophile (22 letters) A man who likes to nibble on a woman's earlobe. Philosophicopsycholological (25 letters) That which pertains to both psychology and philosophy. Philotheoparoptesism (20 letters) Synonym for auto da f�. Essentially the burning of a heretic. Ultracrepidarianism (19 letters) The practice of contributing opinions on matters one knows little about. Perhaps the locus classicus on this phenomenon is Roger Scruton's remark on George Bernard Shaw: "Concerning no subject would he be deterred by the minor accident of complete ignorance from penning a definitive opinion."