Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun nonce word A
factitious disease of the lungs, allegedly caused by inhalingmicroscopic silicate particles originating from eruption of a volcano.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Coined by Everett K Smith, President of the National Puzzlers’ League, at their convention in 1935, from Ancient Greek πνεύμων (pneumōn, "lung") + Latin ultra ("beyond") + English microscopic + silico- + volcano + Ancient Greek κόνις (konis, "dust") + English -osis as an extension of the medical term pneumonoconiosis.
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Examples
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oroboros commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Longest word in the OED. Meaning: respiratory difficulties due to inhalation of volcano dust.
December 1, 2006
brandelion commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
that's one helluva word.
December 9, 2006
zanshin commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
My 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Davis, taught us pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis as an exercise in memorization. She's also the one who taught me ghoti as a phonetic spelling for fish.
December 12, 2006
somern commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
My 8th grade Social Studies teacher, Ms. Elliott, taught us this word. She died later that year in a car accident.
January 10, 2007
arby commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Oh, now you're just showing off.
June 5, 2007
uselessness commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
I learned to say it fast back in third grade, and thought I had "arrived" in the world of intelligence. After a while I realized that doing so is an impressive -- but hollow -- way to dork out, and serves little purpose beside that. It's also an extremely effective way to make your friends think you're a pretentious snot. :-P
October 19, 2007
skipvia commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Plus, it's easier to say "respiratory difficulties due to inhalation of volcano dust."
October 20, 2007
mdwriternm commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
I think it was originally the title of a song in "Mary Poppins" but was replaced because it didn't rhyme with "precocious" and "atrocious." Of course, I could be wrong about that.
October 25, 2007
cathari commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
That is my favourite long word. :)
November 1, 2007
harpsdesire commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Actually, MDWriter... it DOES rhyme with those things. XD
May 1, 2008
oroboros commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Just learned this from Chris Cole's Wordplay, p. 106:
"...it turns that this word is a hoax perpetrated by the members of the National Puzzlers' League, the world's oldest wordplay association. The word is unknown to medical science. The League President (Everett M. Smith) coined the word at the 103rd meeting of the League, held on February 22, 1935 in New York City. It was picked up by a newspaper reporter for the Herald Tribune and printed the next day in the headline of an article on the League meeting. Frank Scully, author of a series of puzzle books and later one of the early UFO enthusiasts, read the newspaper article and repeated the word in Bedside Manna: The Third Fun in Bed Book (Simon and Schuster, 1936, p. 87). On the strength of this citation, League members (with a wink from the editors?) got the word into both the OED Supplement and Webster's Third. There it remains even to this day."
May 24, 2008
jmjarmstrong commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
JM notes that "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" occurs chiefly as an instance of a very long word.
February 1, 2009
PossibleUnderscore commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
It's technically the longest English word because it can be found in a dictionary. (Oxford, I think.)
July 14, 2009
auwords commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Of the words which might be associated with Eyjafjallajökull, this one seems to be missing. Imagine the health effects of all that volcanic ash!
May 10, 2010
john commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
You can see scans of the dictionary entry for this here.
June 19, 2010
ruzuzu commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Hi reesetee!
*waves*
(see gemsbok)
January 18, 2011
reesetee commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Hi ruzuzu!
*waves back*
See? Our incredibly long screen names are welcome here.
January 19, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
All this space--it feels almost decadent!
January 19, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
You know... like scallops.
January 19, 2011
reesetee commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Or shrimp. But they wouldn't need this much space, would they?
January 20, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
A mantis shrimp might, but regular shrimp probably wouldn't.
January 20, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Not that mantis shrimp are actually shrimp.
January 20, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Oh! But what about a jumbo shrimp?
January 20, 2011
reesetee commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Jumbo shrimp can't complain. They're a contradiction in terms.
January 20, 2011
rsure1 commented on the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Longest Word EVER
May 22, 2013