Longest Worm

[xilman]

Originally Posted by ewmayer

"Force," I think.

Reminds me of a joke that can only properly be spoken and not written, but I'll give it a go.

What comes between "fear" and "sex"?

Fünf

Paul

[mfgoode]

Originally Posted by xilman

Reminds me of a joke that can only properly be spoken and not written, but I'll give it a go.

What comes between "fear" and "sex"?

Fünf

Paul

Excellent Paul! and correct pronunciation too.!
Nice to see humour in the forum.
This is one for my repertoire
Thanks.
Mally

[mfgoode]

Originally Posted by Joshua2

OK.
And the longest of all is "smiles"... (to see why highlight below)
After all there is a miles between the first letter and the last!! :)

I don’t have the hang of putting more than one Quote in my reply so I have to reply to you by addressing individual names.

Joshua 2 : You got the longest English word [pneumono----------] which stands at 42 letters. The last ‘c’ could be replaced by ‘k’
I had [Hepatico-----] as a close second as a connection of ducts etc 38 letters
[Tetra ------] with 38 letters was new to me.as an acid You may be interested that [pneumono----------] was coined by Everrett Smith, the Pres. of the National Puzzler's League in 1935 purely for the purpose of inventing a new “longest word”

Of course ‘smiles’ is the longest word and ‘smiles’ to all our German speaking friends who entered the fray.

Ewmayer: Your 100 letter German word is the longest I’ve seen in any language written or spoken, except perhaps, when my wife loses her temper with me and abuses me!

TauCerti: Come to think of it what is the fourth—vier something?

99.94 Fair enough but that’s only a part of the full ‘fear of long words’
It is HIPPOPOTOMONSTROSESQUIPPEDALIOPHOBIA--36-letters.
Mally.

[Richard Cameron]

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis has 45 letters spelt like this, which agrees with OED. I don't have copy of Websters but the Guinness Book of Records says it includes the plural of Pneumo... which is 47 letters.

the Guinness Book of Records also gives disproportionableness and incomprehensibilities, both 21 letters, as "the longest words in common use". It doesn't give criteria for "in common use".

Richard

[T.Rex]

It is well known that the longuest French word is: anticonstitutionnellement.
An adverb of 25 letters that appeared in 1803 and meaning that something is done in a way that does not obey to the laws of the Constitution.
Quite short compared to other languages ...
Tony

[mfgoode]

Originally Posted by Richard Cameron

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis has 45 letters spelt like this, which agrees with OED. I don't have copy of Websters but the Guinness Book of Records says it includes the plural of Pneumo... which is 47 letters.

the Guinness Book of Records also gives disproportionableness and incomprehensibilities, both 21 letters, as "the longest words in common use". It doesn't give criteria for "in common use".

Richard

Thank you Richard. ASFAIK there is no plural of this word, [Pneumo---] Not even in Guinness book of Records. What do you make it officially to be?. Please quote your website and link.
THKS
Mally

[ewmayer]

Originally Posted by mfgoode

Thank you Richard. ASFAIK there is no plural of this word, [Pneumo---]

The plural would logically be Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses, but that has the same number of letters as the singular. Apparently just being diagnosed with the singular version is enough for most people.

[mfgoode]

Originally Posted by ewmayer

The plural would logically be Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses, but that has the same number of letters as the singular. Apparently just being diagnosed with the singular version is enough for most people.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Cameron
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis has 45 letters spelt like this, which agrees with OED. I don't have copy of Websters but the Guinness Book of Records says it includes the plural of Pneumo... which is 47 letters.[unQuote]
:surprised
I would venture to assert that no plural of this word exists.
A moot point Proffessor!

Dick has clearly stated 47 letters. So even if the plural exists it is definitely not longer by two letters and the same as you have ponted out.

Please ensure fair play and refrain from connivance of a blatant violation of Corporate Lesson 5 which many of our members are prone to indulge in.
Every important statement esp. in a contradiction or correction should be backed up by some authority

Thank you
Mally

[ewmayer]

Originally Posted by xilman

What comes between "fear" and "sex"?

Fünf

Paul

I was going to say "several pints to help me get my nerve up," but your answer is much better.

"Vier shalt thou not count,
Nor Zwei, excepting thou then proceed to Drei.
Fünf is right out..."

[Richard Cameron]

I won't quote anyone because i'm a little confused over who I'm supposed to agree or disagree with.

Anyway, apologies for the delay: I have been searching, unsucessfully, for a citation of the P45+es word.

Authority for matters lexigrapical is usually taken to be the Oxford English Dictionary or, for North American usage, Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged.

As I said, I only have the OED which lists p45 but no plural. The first citation, incidently, is from 1936 which fits the theory that the word was invented in 1935.

Interesting, but this doesn't move us forward. The Guinness Book of Records remains the only -indirect- authority I have for the plural. It states in all the UK editions from 1982 to 1991 that p45+es is in Websters, but not in OED.

I am not yet sufficiently motivated to register with Merriam Webster to look up the citation. I did google p45+es and got 56 results, whilst p45 as a plural got 199. So the 'consensus' spelling of p45 as plural is the shorter form.

Richard

[robreid]

The one I enjoy from where I come from is
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu

which translates to "the place where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as 'landeater,' played his flute to his loved one."

Longest Place Names