Editing Longest word in English (section)

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The identity of the [[longest word]] in [[English language|English]] depends on the definition of "[[word]]" and of length.

Words may be derived naturally from [[History of English|the language's roots]] or formed by [[#Coinages|coinage]] and [[#Constructions|construction]]. Additionally, comparisons are complicated because [[#Place names|place names]] may be considered words, [[#Technical terms|technical terms]] may be arbitrarily long, and the addition of suffixes and prefixes may extend the length of words to create grammatically correct but unused or novel words. Different dictionaries include and omit different words.

The ''length'' of a word may also be understood in multiple ways. Most commonly, length is based on [[orthography]] (conventional spelling rules) and counting the number of written [[Letter (alphabet)|letters]]. Alternate, but less common, approaches include [[phonology]] (the spoken language) and the number of [[phonemes]] (sounds).

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-right:auto; font-size:95%"
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!Word !! Letters
!Meaning!! Claim !! Dispute
|-
|{{mono|[[wikt:Appendix:Protologisms/Long words/Titin|methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylalanyl...isoleucine]]}}||189,819
|The chemical composition of [[titin]], the largest known protein||Longest known word overall by magnitudes. Attempts to say the entire word have taken two<ref>{{cite web |title=Reading The Longest English Word (190,000 Characters) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZVbzNRUlQI | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211110/IZVbzNRUlQI| archive-date=2021-11-10 | url-status=live|website=YouTube | date=2 June 2017 |access-date=2 August 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> to three and a half hours.<ref>{{Cite web|title=World's longest word takes 3.5 hours to pronounce|url=https://cw39.com/newsfix/worlds-longest-word-takes-3-5-hours-to-pronounce/|date=2012-12-08|website=CW39 Houston|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-18|archive-date=2020-05-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527051837/https://cw39.com/newsfix/worlds-longest-word-takes-3-5-hours-to-pronounce/|url-status=dead}}</ref>||Technical; not in dictionary; whether this should actually be considered a word is disputed
|-
|{{mono|[[methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamyl...serine]]}}||1,909
|The chemical name of ''[[E. coli]]'' [[Tryptophan synthase|TrpA]] ({{Uniprot|P0A877}})
|Longest published word<ref name="P0A877">{{cite book |author=Moore |first=Colista |url=https://archive.org/details/studentsdictiona00coli/page/524/mode/2up |title=A Student's Dictionary & Gazetteer |date=1 January 2006 |publisher=[[The Dictionary Project]] |isbn=978-0-9771777-5-2 |edition=11th |location=[[Sullivan's Island]] |page=524 |url-access=registration}}</ref>||Technical
|-
|{{mono|[[Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon|lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsano...pterygon]]}}||183
|A fictional dish of food||Longest word [[Neologism|coined]] by a major author,<ref>see separate article [[Lopado...pterygon]]</ref> the longest word ever to appear in literature<ref>{{cite book| author = Donald McFarlan|author2=Norris Dewar McWhirter |author3=David A. Boeh | title = Guinness book of world records: 1990| url = https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofwo00don_0e9| url-access = registration| year = 1989| publisher = Sterling| isbn = 978-0-8069-5790-6| page = [https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofwo00don_0e9/page/129 129] }}</ref>||Contrived [[nonce word]]; not in dictionary; [[Ancient Greek]] transliteration
|-
|{{mono|[[pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis]]}}||45
|The disease [[silicosis]]||Longest word in a major dictionary<ref name="p45" />||Contrived coinage to make it the longest word; technical, but only mentioned and never actually used in communication
|-
|{{mono|[[supercalifragilisticexpialidocious]]}}||34
|Unclear – generally understood as a positive adjective or a [[nonsense word]]||Made popular in the [[Mary Poppins (film)|''Mary Poppins'' film]] and [[Mary Poppins (musical)|musical]]<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/origin-supercalifragilisticexpialidocious| title = Merriam Webster: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious}}</ref>||Contrived coinage
|-
|{{mono|[[pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism]]}}||30
|A hereditary medical disorder||Longest non-contrived word in a major dictionary<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/longestword |title=What is the longest English word? |publisher=AskOxford |access-date=2010-08-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022192048/http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/longestword |archive-date=2008-10-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ||Technical
|-
|{{mono|[[Antidisestablishmentarianism (word)|antidisestablishmentarianism]]}}||28
|The political position of opposing [[Separation of church and state|disestablishment]]||Longest non-contrived and nontechnical word<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/longestword?view=uk|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131032923/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/longestword?view=uk|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013|title=What is the longest English word?|work=oxforddictionaries.com}}</ref>||Not all dictionaries accept it due to lack of usage.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/no-antidisestablishmentarianism-is-not-in-the-dictionary| title = Merriam Webster: "Antidisestablishmentarianism is not in the dictionary."}}</ref>
|-
|{{mono|[[honorificabilitudinitatibus]]}}||27
|The state of being able to achieve honors
|Longest word in [[Shakespeare]]'s works; longest word in the English language featuring alternating consonants and vowels<ref>[http://www.innocentenglish.com/cool-interesting-and-strange-facts/cool-strange-and-interesting-facts-page-3-3.html "Cool, Strange, and Interesting Facts,"] fact 99.  ''InnocentEnglish.com''.  Retrieved 2019-03-13.</ref>||Latin
|}