[WORD PEOPLE] The Longest Word in the Dictionary

You might be a Word Person if you’ve ever asked yourself, “What’s the longest word in the dictionary?”

At 45 letters, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is the longest word in the English language published in a dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary. It refers to a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine ash and sand dust. The disease is otherwise known as silicosis.

Honorable mentions also go out to:

  • Floccinaucinihilipilification – the estimation of something as worthless – 29 letters
  • Antidisestablishmentarianism – opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England – 28 letters

Source: OxfordDictionaries.com

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