Word of the Moment: Floccinaucinihilipilification

Floccinaucinihilipilification is the longest non technical word in most English dictionaries. There is some dispute to this since it is a "coined" word, in other words it was coined but not generally accepted in regular use, but I think people voicing this opinion are just fans of antidisestablishmentarianism. In previous lenses I have spoken of the oddities of the English language, and this word is a prime example of the wierdness. It can be broken down into Latin roots rather easily, but who would want to. Such a long word for such a simple definition, it seems absurd, where innuendo fits its definition so nicely floccinaucinihilipilification is at the exact opposite end of the spectrum.

Floccinaucinihilipilification is the longest word that is in the dictionary, but there is some debate as to if it truly qualifies as the longest word in the english language. The debate comes in due to the fact that the floccinaucinihilipilification is not really a word at all, it is made up for the purposes of describing uselessness, and is in itself more of a game than a word. However due to the fact that the english language barely qualifies as a language I think putting rules on what are "words" and what aren't is a little silly at this point. After all goodbye isn't a word if you go back far enough.

If floccinaucinihilipilification isn't a word than antidisestablishmentarianism would be the clear winner for the longest word, but since its fallen out of use one could argue that even that isn't a word.