At 11:35 26.4.2000 -0500, you wrote:
>When I was in sixth grade my teacher taught me a word that she said was the
>longest word in the world. She said it was the name of a small town in
>Iceland. I have never been able to find it on a map. Does such a place
>exist there? Or was she all wet!
>
>
>The word:
>
>Abericonymbustexiwazenfadigapeljarquivinek
>
>Ray T. Bentley, RPT
>Alton, IL, USA
>
>
>
>
>
Dear Ray,
what an honour this is, to have a whole thread named after ME!
NO this is not a word in Icelandic.
It´s total bullshit and I hope this doesn´t reflect the education standard
there.
One can see this mishmash of words is made up of something resembling
Latin, German, Spanish, French and with a little Inuit taste at the end.
Of course, if I wanted, I could make you a very long word in Icelandic.
For example:
Vaðlaheiðarvegavinnuverkfærageymsluskúrslykill
This means; the key to the tool shack the road construction crew has on
Vaðlaheiði (a moor somewhere in Iceland).
In Icelandic, as in many other germanic languages, the nouns are most
commonly put together in one. So a "piano tuner" would be "píanóstillari"
made of the words "píanó" (piano for the more lingually challenged out
there) and "stillari" (tuner)
But long words like the a-f-o-r-e-m-e-n-t-i-o-n-e-d are basically just a
bunch of skítur.
The longest name of a town in the world is the one below, which is in
Wales, and has a newly developed web page.
www.llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.com
It´s even worse than the one you gave me:)
Regards,
Kristinn Leifsson,
Reykjavík, Iceland
P.S.
Cached copy of=20
http://www.webspinning.com.au/users1/lambertj/public_html/long.html=20
follows... RK
=
an answer to the silly question
what is the longest word in the english language?
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters) was made famous by=20
the Walt Disney movie 'Mary Poppins' (1964), though it has been=20
recorded earlier, going way back to the 1940s. Once again a joke=20
word, it first appeared in comedy songs, of which the humour was=20
supplied by the ridiculousness of the word. Nowadays it is used (also=20
in a shortened version supercalifragilistic) to mean 'amazingly=20
excellent', etc.
One sly answer to the question of what is the longest word would be=20
DDT, for its full title is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (31=20
letters). This is longer than antidis... and flocci... and is more=20
likely to be considered a 'real' word than the slightly longer=20
supercali... Also, three letters are easier to remember than 31. It=20
is the longest in the Macquarie Dictionary.
Many of these long words were collected by Josefa Heifetz Byrne in=20
her wonderful dictionary Mrs Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure=20
and Preposterous Words (1974).
The longest word to appear in standard English dictionaries is=20
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis. This is the name of a=20
lung disease suffered by miners. It first appeared in Webster's New=20
International Dictionary and then alter in the second edition of the=20
Oxford English Dictionary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
List
Llanfairpwllgwyngyll - 20 (longest place name; Welsh)
humuhumunukunukuapuaa - 21
dihydroxyphenylalanine - 22
hexamethylenetetramine - 22
pseudomonocotyledonous - 22
honorificabilitudinity - 22
interdenominationalism - 22
gynotikolobomassophile - 22
bathysiderodromophobia - 22
dichlorodifluoromethane - 23
polytetrafluoroethylene - 23
quasihemidemisemiquaver - 23
inanthropomorphisability - 24
sphragidonychargokometes - 24 (Ancient Greek)
pseudorhombicuboctahedron - 25
honorificabilitudintatibus - 26 (longest in Shakespeare)
antidisestablishmentarianism - 28
tetramethyldiamidobenzhydrols - 29
floccinaucinihilipilification - 29 (longest in OED 1st ed.)
hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian - 30 (Mrs Byrne's Dict.)
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane - 31 (longest in Macquarie Dict.)
praetertranssubstantionalistically - 34 (M McShane)
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - 34
necropurogeohydrocheirocoscinomancy - 35 (Thomas Tomkis)
cholangiocholecystocholedochectomies - 36 (Mrs Byrne's Dict.)
hepaticocholangiocholecystenterostomies - 39 (Gould's Medical Dict.)
osteoarch'matosplanchnochondroneuromuelous- 42 (TL Peacock)
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis - 45 (longest in OED=20
2nd ed. & Websters)
antipericatametaanaparcircumvolutiorectumgustpoops - 50 (Rabelais)
aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic - 52 (Mrs=20
Byrne's Dict.; chem)
osseocarnisanguineoviscericartilagninonervomedullary - 52 (TL Peacock)
bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarr=20
hounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk - 100 (James Joyce)
orniscopytheobibliopsychocrystarroscioaerogenethliometeoroaustrohier=20
oanthropoichthyopyrosiderochpnomyoalectryoophiobotanopegohydrorhabdo=20
crithoaleuroalphitohalomolybdoclerobeloaxinocoscinodactyliogeolithop=20
essopsephocatoptrotephraoneirochiroonychodactyloarithstichooxogelosc=20
ogastrogyrocerobletono=A7noscapulinaniac
- 310 (not a real word - see appendix 2)
acetylseryltyrosylserylisoleucylthreonylserylprolylserylglutaminylph=20
enylalanylvalylphenylalanylleucylserylserylvalyltryptophylalanylaspa=20
rtylprolylisoleucylglutamylleucylleucylasparaginylvalylcysteinylthre=20
onylserylserylleucylglycylasparaginylglutaminylphenylalanylglutaminy=20
lthreonylglutaminylglutaminylalanylarginylthreonylthreonylglutaminyl=20
valylglutaminylglutaminylphenylalanylserylglutaminylvalyltryptophyll=20
ysylprolylphenylalanylprolylglutaminylserylthreonylvalylarginylpheny=20
lalanylprolylglycylaspartylvalyltyrosyllysylvalyltyrosylarginyltyros=20
ylasparaginylalanylvalylleucylaspartylprolylleucylisoleucylthreonyla=20
lanylleucylleucylglycylthreonylphenylalanylaspartylthreonylarginylas=20
paraginylarginylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylvalylglutamylasparaginylgl=20
utaminylglutaminylserylprolylthreonylthreonylalanylglutamylthreonyll=20
eucylaspartylalanylthreonylarginylarginylvalylaspartylaspartylalanyl=20
threonylvalylalanylisoleucylarginylserylalanylasparaginylisoleucylas=20
paraginylleucylvalylasparaginylglutamylleucylvalylarginylglycylthreo=20
nylglycylleucyltyrosylasparaginylglutaminylasparaginylthreonylphenyl=20
alanylglutamylserylmethionylserylglycylleucylvalyltryptophylthreonyl=20
serylalanylprolylalanylserine
- 1,185 (chem. in Mrs Byrne's Dict. See appendix 2)
methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalan=20
ylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalanylpheny=20
lalanylvalylprolylphenylalanylyalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylproly=20
lglycylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylt=20
hreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanylglycylalanylaspartylalanylleucyl=20
glutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylle=20
ucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylglutaminylasparaginyl=20
alanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylglycylvalyl=20
threonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionyl=20
leucyalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreon=20
ylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylas=20
paraginylleucylvalylphenylalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspar=20
tylglutamylphenylalanyltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysyl=20
valylglycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprol=20
ylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanylarginylglutami=20
nylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanylprolylisol=20
eucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylasparty=20
laspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylserylty=20
rosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylargin=20
ylalanylglycylvalylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylala=20
nylalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalylalanyllysyl=20
leucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylg=20
lutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylg=20
lutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylglycylalanylal=20
anylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalyllysylis=20
oleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutam=20
ylprolylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphen=20
ylalanylvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylargin=20
ylserine
- 1,913 (chem. in Mrs Byrne's Dict. See appendix 2)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix 1
The longest headwords from the Macquarie Dictionary second edition
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane - 31
antidisestablishmentarianism - 28
antidisestablishmentarian - 25
dichlorodifluoromethane - 23
polytetrafluoroethylene - 23
dihydroxyphenylalanine - 22
hexamethylenetetramine - 22
overcommercialisation - 21
disestablishmentarian - 21
audiomagnetotellurics - 21
electroencephalograph - 21
overindustrialisation - 21
trichloronitromethane - 21
hydrodesulphurisation - 21 (1st ed. - respelled with 'f' in 2nd ed.)
uncharacteristically - 20
counterdemonstration - 20
electroencephalogram - 20
hydrodesulfurisation - 20 (2nd ed. spelling)
Llanfairpwllgwyngyll - 20 (Welsh place name)
magnetohydrodynamics - 20
microminiaturisation - 20
tetrahydrocannabinol - 20
tetraiodofluorescein - 20
antinationalisation - 19
self-dissatisfaction - 19
unconscientiousness - 19
unselfconsciousness - 19
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix 2
310 orniscop...
This 310 letter word that appears in the list is not really a word at=20
all. The word which appeared in Ripley The Omnibus Believe It Or Not,=20
(1931). With the note that:
``THE long word of 310 letters was used as a means of demonstrating:=20
1. The extent to which even the English language is capable of=20
forming enormous word monsters, and, 2. The whole field of=20
superstitious divinatory practices which are as old as humanity. The=20
literal translation of the long word is "A deluded human who=20
practices divination or forecasting by means of phenomena,=20
interpretation of acts or other manifestations related to the=20
following animate or inanimate objects and appearances: birds,=20
oracles, Bible, ghosts, crystal gazing, shadows, air appearances,=20
birth stars, meteors, winds, sacrificial appearances, entrails of=20
humans and fishes, fire, red-hot irons, altar smoke, mice, barley,=20
salt, lead, dice, arrows, hatchet balance, sieve, ring suspension,=20
random dots, precious stones, pebbles, pebble heaps, mirrors, ash=20
writing, dreams, palmistry, nail rays, finger rings, numbers, book=20
passages, name letterings, laughing manners, ventriloquism, circle=20
walking, wax, susceptibility to hidden springs, wine and shoulder=20
blades. Various monastic author of the Middle Ages writing on the=20
subject of human superstition have actually used such a long word=20
with a slightly varying sequence of items.''
It is clearly NOT a word of the 'Middle Ages' since it uses word=20
elements that do not date back that far, for example the '-bletono-'=20
refers to Bletonism a word which first appeared in the C19th. I=20
assume that Ripley merely concocted it himself. It is merely a list=20
of the first elements of a set words ending in -mancy (eg theomancy,=20
bibliomancy, etc.) all stuck together in one long line. Furthermore=20
it plainly is derived from the set of such words that appeared in=20
Roget's Thesaurus (under the head prediction 511), for the order of=20
the elements follows exactly non-alphabetical ordering of Roget's.=20
One assumes that the terminal element -naniac is a mistake.=20
Presumably it should be a derivative of -mancy (the usual=20
occupational agent termination being -mancer). Possibly -maniac was=20
meant, it being etymologically related.
1,185 acetyl...
1,913 methion...
These last two words are respectively, the chemical name of the=20
protein part of the tobacco mosaic virus (C785H1220N212O248S2), and=20
the chemical name for tryptophan synthetase A protein. These appear=20
in Mrs Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Preposterous Words.
The Thomas Love Peacock words are from Headlong Hall 1816 [published=20
(along with Nightmare Abbey) in the 'World's Classics' series, OUP,=20
1929: xi. 90-1]
The Thomas Tomkis word is from his 1615 play Albumazar.
The Shakespearian word comes from Love's Labour's Lost V.i. Not a=20
coinage of Shakespeare's though. It is the ablative plural of the=20
Latin honorificabilitudintas, which is an extension of=20
honorificabilis meaning 'honorableness'. It first occurs in English=20
in 1599, used by Thomas Nashe.
The Mark McShane word is from his novel Untimely Ripped 1963.
The Rabelaisian word appears in Gargantua and Pantagruel occurring=20
there as a title of a book=20
"Antipericatametaanaparcircumvolutiorectumgustpoops of the Coprofied".
The Joycean concoction is, not surprisingly, from Finnegan's Wake. it=20
is meant to represent the thunder-clap that accompanied Adam & Eve in=20
the Fall. Other 100-letter long words appear in the book
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