hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian
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English
Etymology
An extension of sesquipedalian using a modified form of hippopotamus and Latin monstrum; the extensions almost certainly chosen with the intention of making the new construct autological.
Pronunciation
Adjective
hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian (comparative more hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian, superlative most hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian)
- Of or pertaining to extremely long words.[1]
- 1997, Steven George Krantz, A primer of mathematical writing:
- To indulge in hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian tergiversation is not to show your erudition: rather, it is to be superficial.
- 2005, Greg Vaughn, Fred Holmes, Letters from Dad:
- And when it comes to language, short, simple words often have more impact and power than multisyllabic, hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian ones.
- 2006, Richard Lederer, Word Wizard: Super Bloopers, Rich Reflections, and Other Acts of Word Magic:
- ...a forty-five-letter hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian word for black lung disease.
Related terms
References
- ^ Mrs. Byrne [Josefa Heifetz Byrne] (1979) “hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian”, in Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Preposterous Words: Gathered from Numerous and Diverse Authoritative Sources, London: Granada Publishing, →ISBN.