hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian
English
Etymology
An extension of sesquipedalian using a modified form of hippopotamus and Latin monstrum, with 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.