LONGEST WORDS

Antidisestablishmentarianism

Many years ago at Benjamin Franklin Junior High in Racine, WI, Miss Bolton taught our English class that the longest word in any English Dictionary was Antidisestablishmentarianism.

Cambridge English Dictionary Definition:  “Opposition to the belief that there should not be an official relationship between a country’s government and its national church.”

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

I asked Google to give me the longest word in any Dictionary today and they gave me pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

Cambridge English Dictionary Definition:  “A chronic lung disease caused by the inhalation of fine silicate or quartz dust.” The origin in the 1930’s according to Oxford Dictionary is rather sketchy. It states: A word invented (probably by Everett M. Smith, President of the National Puzzlers’ League) in imitation of very long medical terms. He wanted to be responsible for the longest word in any dictionary.

I am still going to use antidisestablishmentarianism until Miss Bolton tells me differently. She is one of those teachers whom you always remember and you use what she taught you all the time. There are others like Mrs. Connelly (Franklin) Algebra, Mr. Stewart (Park High) English, Mr. Wegner (UW Ext) Basketball, Mr. Anderson (I.U.) Advanced Cost Accounting, Mr. Barnes (UCLA) Work Simplification and the entire staff at Navy Supply Corp. School. Thank you each and every one.

2 Responses to LONGEST WORDS

  1. Jon Roe June 6, 2019 at 4:26 pm #

    Speaking of remembering teachers from our youth, I remember Jane LeMon who taught at Canisteo Central High School in Western NYS. Her pet peeve was the phrase, “A lot”. Whenever someone in class would use that phrase in a sentence like “I liked your article a lot”, she would say ” a lot is a piece of ground! You liked the article very much.” This sticks with me to this day (I’m 66) and try very hard to not use the phrase “a lot” in my daily life.

    • Duane Gomer June 12, 2019 at 5:41 pm #

      Amen, I agree. My regret is that I did not go back and thank teachers, coaches, etc. Cleg La Mere taught me tennis and gave me some money to start at IU and said pay it forward; Art Wagner was my coach at UW Extension and he ran an offense in Basketball that got me shots all over the floor and then he went to IU and lived next door to the tennis coach and got me a scholarship and also introduced me to the Freshman Basketball Coach and I made that team because of that. Thanks for reading and commenting, Appreciated.

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