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Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilico­volcanoconiosis

OK… I got sooooo many requests for this word, I just had to do it!

The longest word in the English language at 45 letters?

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

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292 Comments and 61 threads

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  1. titan1912 says: 143

    Hello Marina, I was wondering if you could find out why we pronounce the word [both] as if there is and “L” between the “O” and the “T”. Could you find out for me?

  2. titan1912 says: 142

    The longest word I have ever come across is “Uninanonomonitity”. I could guess at what this word might mean, but I would probably be wrong?

  3. wetsuit5 says: 141

    Has LA invented a name for breathing in smoke from the fires?

  4. hutchiee says: 139

    When I used to do glass sand-blasting, it was called silocosis. Was that just a shortened term for pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis?

  5. Believe it or not, I have used that word in normal conversation!

    • leonard says: 138.1

      Are you to be a Doctor?…”This is the hardcore nerd blog that’s too technical for YouTube. ” NerdWithNoLife: good job……My dad had to have his lungs pump because of the dust caught in the [oats seeds], he operated a combine(threshing machine)…industrialist, both private and custom work…[dust]…HotForWords is the best :razz:

  6. mxmusik says: 137

    interesting lesson!!! i havent heard of this word before!!!

  7. mythman says: 136

    It’s a big, ugly word; but You make it Lovely, Doctor!

    Still, you probably ought to monitor here & do these words first (the highest-paying advertising-keywords), followed by Yahoo!’s most-searched searches (top-20’s in I-don’t-know-how-many categories) and then Google’s most-searched searches (top-100).

    Then start on the words we (your grateful students) request.

    Speaking of requests, I have a couple words (drawn from Your name) that would be good for you to investigate: sea (”Marina” … duh …) and eagle (from ‘of the eagles,’ a root of Orlova)

  8. animalntaz says: 135

    This lesson reminded me of a PBS documentery I once watched:

    SECRETS OF THE DEAD

  9. shephild says: 134

    Is that one of those sexy empire (baby doll) tops you’re wearing?

  10. Che Volay says: 133

    Words like this have no interest to me

    • Yes, I have to wholeheartedly agree. The entire pneumo- series of words just doesn’t properly excite the intellect. And in this particular instance, the idea of silicone in the lungal area is — well, how shall I put it? — too farfetched for words; it strains credulity. As a matter of fact, after watching this lesson, I can tell you that I found my credulity strained. Oh, sooooo strained. And out of self-defense I will have to temporarily log off and uh, de-strain myself. :mrgreen:

      Well! I’m back again and… {“OMG, I’m going to have to clean off the desktop. I wonder if the mousewheel still turns.”}

  11. errin says: 132

    Interesting lesson. Never heard of that word before. Will probably never hear of it again, as I doubt it pops up much in small talk.

    Once again, I am going to re-iterate the unique word request I made a couple lessons ago. It appears that I have stumped Marina, so I thought I’d keep putting in the request until she acknowledges it or at least acknowledges that she can’t answer it.

    What I wanted to know is what you call a word that remains the same when you rotate it 180 degrees. For instance, the word ‘pod’ remains ‘pod’ if you spin it halfway around. Same goes for the word ‘dollop’… turn it 180 degrees and it still remains ‘dollop’. The word ‘mow’ would be another such word. Question is, what is the word to describe such a ‘rotating’ word? Does such a word for ‘rotating’ words even exist? If not, there should be a word for such. It’s not quite a palindrome, and it’s not quite an ambigram. So what is it?

    Maybe I’m wrong, but I am being insistent and persistent about this word request because it is so different. Plus I’m really curious to find the answer out! I thought for sure our trusty teacher would find it interesting too, but still no input from her on the matter. I’ll just have to be patiently persistent until I get some sort of answer. Peace, Errin : )

  12. leonard says: 129

    cool to be apart of the +++ 100K COMMeNTS

  13. pterryptez says: 128

    Actually do you think you could tell us the definition of the word ‘marijuana’ and smoke a dooby whilst you tell the story :P :) wow

  14. titanpa says: 127

    Weird word.

    I don’t know if this has been done already. But, I want to know why a type of Sleeveless shirt is called a “Wife Beater”? Where did that name come from?? ITs used so much for that type of shirt and noone thinks twice about it.

  15. pterryptez says: 126

    Thats crazy i think this word sucks balls! marina your incredible, can you please tell us the origin of the word ’soles’ as in feet (pl) xxx

  16. kjmty2 says: 125

    Marina who astound me more each time i see and hear you.

  17. v_nome says: 124

    Hey, I’d like to suggest… Well, not a word but a phrase or pair of phrases.

    Tow/toe the line. I see both used but they would appear to have very different meanings despite being so easily confused. Which is the original and when did each come into use?

  18. nighteye says: 123

    As for long words, I’ll submit this one:

    Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliognosophilia

    The love of knowledge about long words. :)

  19. hitoshi says: 122

    hello everyone! is it true that pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is a disease that mainly killed porn actresses in the US?

  20. nomusician says: 121

    (I guess I can post a request here?)

    Do you do Business English words?
    That’s to say, I’d be interested to know where the word
    MINUTES comes from.
    It seems to be pluralized? or wait a minute…
    yes.

    Hope 2 hear from ya.

  21. Evan Owen says: 120

    ***WORD REQUEST: DOG***
    No known etymological connection with any other Indo-European word for “Dog.” Marina, did you ever find the origin?

    Speaking of which, here’s another downside to being an obsessive-compulsive dyslexic insomniac agnostic. I lay awake all last night wondering if there really is a dog! :mrgreen:

    • neuroway says: 120.1

      Hello Evan,

      I’m not quite sure this can help you in your search for knowledge, but let it be known that there’s a little aztec legend around about dogs. The legend goes on to tell what happened to a couple of humans, Tata and Nene (Papa and Mama), as the result of their own incompetence.

      “When the corn was gone and the ahuehuetl trunk had stopped rocking, Tata and Nene emerged and found that they were saved. Using a drill to start a fire in some small sticks, they roasted a few fish. But this was not appreciated by the gods because it smoked the sky, making it black. Titlacahuan-Tezcatlipoca bawled them out for their error. He then cut their heads off at their necks and sewed them back onto their buttocks. This turned them into dogs (chichime), the first ancestors of all those living in the Fifth Sun. The sky was smoked by these dogs in the year 1-Rabbit.” :roll:

      - Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos, by Kay Almere Read.

      • I’m not sure this explains the etymology of “dog,” but might be the source of the expression “having one’s head up one’s ass.” :lol:

        “Chichime” does look a bit like the French “chien” (dog), but the only Nahuatl I know of for sure in English is “chocolate, avocado, tomato.” :cool:

  22. hey
    you r going a gr8tooooooo job,,,, GOOD JOB, can u help me for a word, pussy, why we use this for pussy cat n women vigina??? please i am waiting for ur answer thankiiii….

  23. sampu111 says: 118

    Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphioparaomelito-katakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiola-goiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon. 183 letters and in greek word λοπαδοτεμαχοσελαχογαλεοκρανιολειψανοδριμυποτριμματοσιλφιοκαραβομελιτοκατακεχυμενοκιχλεπικοσσυφοφαττοπεριστερ­αλεκτρυονοπτοκεφαλλιοκιγκλοπελειολαγῳοσιραιοβαφητραγανοπτερύγων. 171 letter. what that word mean?? :grin:

  24. bsomebody says: 117

    The only time I was ever admitted to a hospital was a “dusty lung” kind of thing. I was working at a lumber yard in Las Vegas, and I had just finished loading 90 lb. bags of concrete on a 5′ high truck bed. As I was walking away, I stretched down to pick up some trash, and WHAM! It felt like someone had dorp-kicked me square in the chest. Despite being in my late twenties, I knew I was having a heart attack; all the noticable symptoms matched up perfectly. The guy who drove me to the ER knew I was going to die, as well. It turned out I had collapsed a lung. Five days in the hospital, and I was good as new. That was also my only experience with morphine; now that was some good stuff, man :???: :evil: :cool:

  25. muggins says: 116

    Dictionary fascists :!: What kind of greedy ulterior motive is involved in this so called word, Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis? Pneumonou…. is not a real word because it’s neither in common usage, nor is it used by the professionals in the health world (that’s a guess based on the fact that just to use the word would cause listeners to loose interest in the subject and make a silly face, plus there’s a high risk factor inherent in the word since to say the word incorrectly would make an otherwise intelligent geek sound like a pretender.

  26. go0se957 says: 115

    I would like to know the origin of the word “Belly”

  27. James says: 114

    I FELL IN THE POND!! it was icy and i thought it could hold my weight i went to put my second foot on and my first foot went right through… The first thing I said was “ MY UGGS!!!!

    You have got to laugh really

    I think it would make a good story for YT

    If only someone had filmed it… Welll I am not going to do it again :razz: :razz:

  28. I think is Gorby hungry! He want food! haha :lol:

  29. okay4now says: 112

    Hwk: I guess, normally I use words like counterintuitive, extraordinarily etc. I love how expansive English is, there are so many more words when compared to other languages and so may definitions for each word…

    • okay4now says: 112.1

      My spellcheck has this word with a ‘K’ instead of the final “C” used here:

      Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis; but I’ll cede (no pun) to HFW here and spell it with a ‘C’.

      BUT, can’t we make this word longer like using the prefix anti-: antipneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis as in anticough,

      OR, maybe the suffix -esque, for symptoms that are similar:
      pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosisesque?

      Or, should we run from this word :wink: and never look back?

  30. nenad says: 111

    Hello, are you going to celebrate Christmas Eve tonight ?

  31. xen86 says: 110

    word request: Hi Marina, I am a big sci-fi fan and I am interested in the origin of the word plasma, and why it is used to refer to blood and super hot gas/charged particles often found or referred to in sci-fi. Thanks :mrgreen:

  32. leonard says: 109

    robots,no lungs the Wired site is cool, they said this video got yank from you tube :neutral:

  33. shawman says: 108

    when the word Animism is spokan with the Pronunciation dialect of a smokin hot beauty added does it sound erodick
    “Animism Grrawr” ‘;..;’

    By the way this image http://img380.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mytohot4wordspic2hi5.jpg is for you to do with as you like i drew this wile watching you and thought Wow Smokin Hot!

  34. sean68 says: 107

    That really is a long word. It seems like five words strung together though.

    I also wanted to add that when you say ” Be good” at the end. You are also saying the letter “K” in American Sign Language. It must be a sublimnal response for us to agree with you to “be good”. :grin:

  35. labbatt78 says: 106

    word request: what’s the origin of shark?

  36. neuroway says: 105

    Blimey! What do we have today? A genuine golden-coated Lady Orlova?

    You look as sharp as a gold bullion fresh out of the NYC Federal Reserve vault, shining under the sun. Just like a poker table Las Vegas lady, playing the roulette, these two gold-plated chain sprockets of yours gleaming under the artificial light, like a turboed superbike ready to pop a wheelie on Sunset Boulevard.

    And you bring along this silly scientific syntax serpent with you today? This is a highfalutin piece of work indeed, señorita. It will surely give hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia to all the little kids in the schools. I’d just cut it to pieces, smash it around, shorten it out, symplify it. Pneumosillivolnosis seems fair enough to me. Fair enough to be remembered and spoken in a bar after a couple of drinks.

  37. Marina says: 104

    I added in the word wrap plug-in.. but I seem to remember it breaking something…. if you guys can find what it breaks, let me know.

  38. zlosky92 says: 103

    Well Marina I choose not to use too many longs and complicated words in a conversation….
    Could you please find the origin of the word “Misanthropic” ? :smile:

  39. You know Marina, when in doubt, turn to Bugs Bunny for some interesting words. An example would be “amscray” as in “get outta here.” You’re a Bugs Bunny fan. Any other words come to mind?

    BTW, Bugs Bunny was and still is my favorite cartoon character (all the cartoons today aren’t as original and funny). Looney Toons are the best! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

  40. cibuleris says: 101

    I love your vids and explanations! I usually never request anything from anyone, but… what with the NFL playoffs going on and the Super Bowl fast approaching – could you please explain the term “Touchdown!“? “Field goal” kinda makes sense, but touchdown leaves me to scratch my head. Continue making your great videos!

  41. wyo550 says: 100

    Thank you for doing the BIG word I requested Marina. I love the new opening graphics featuring your beautiful blue eyes and I’m happy to see advertising on your Youtube videos (to help you pay for $200 books). Maybe I’ll send your office a free (signed and numbered) copy of my new novel, Edge of Heaven, in which so many people die of
    Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

  42. popzzz says: 99

    WORD REQUEST: acatalepsy

  43. Tazman says: 98

    Well Teacher. I have been requesting these words for along time, either by themself or as a group. So here they are again…

    PHANTASMAGORIA
    MISANTHROPIC
    EXTEMPORANEOUS
    CIRUMLOCUTION
    BACCHANALIAN
    ANTHROPOMORPHIC
    HYPOTHETICAL
    VERISIMILITUDE

    So. Do you think you can find out about one or two for me. :mrgreen:
    Thanks.

  44. Warren says: 97

    This was one of the best shows Marina.
    The intro and the finale were beautiful.
    It kept me wondering what you were going to do next.
    Retro Marina with the flashback and the unpolished show- I loved it.
    HW: I use several but only because I have to and not for conversation.

  45. shephild says: 96

    parsec is the longest word I use.

  46. Amanda says: 95

    How do u change ur profile pic??!

    My friends and I have been trying to say this word for twenty mintues!

    the longest word i frequently use in day to day conversation is prolly: Construction flabbergasted (is that a word) or exhasperation… Most common word I use is “like” as a filler. I’m trying to stop, but once started it is really quite difficult.

  47. I wanted to request the word Guido. I want to know the origin of it.

    Thank you

  48. Why can’t you do the word philanthropist or philanthropy?? Or how about the word Robot?

  49. tryant says: 91

    Word request;

    I was watchin some damn show on PBS,some dude on an investigative romp around India,they were talking about Sandscrit and mentioned an ancient drink called “Soma” or something like that,,,one old duffer(archaeologist I think)said it was made with “Poppy,Cannabis,and,Ephedra”. Could Ya maybe check the spelling of “Soma” and let it be My request? I think,since it is from such ancient language,it might be fun for Ya.

    tryant

  50. tryant says: 90

    Hey capman911!! How the heck Ya doin these days?!

    Have Ya been treating the owly receptionists to some humor to brighen their day? :lol: Or just snap their head off for fun?! :twisted:

  51. :smile: Thanks Marina. Your lesson on “Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis” was like a breath of fresh air! was that too cliché :?:

  52. telmonunes says: 88

    word request: typography

    this word will change your life.

    comic sans not good

    bye bye

  53. tryant says: 87

    I’ve got the breathing disease,heck,I’ve got *all* the respiratory diseases after smoking cigs and such since 1974!! :lol:

    Not to worry tho,working drywall and general construction creates plenty of dust to protect My lungs from the smoke,,when that becomes too much,the tar,nicotine and whatever else protects My lungs from the dust! How could I lose?!?!(Don’t answer that) :roll: :lol: ..

    Awww Marina,now You should *know* for sure,the longest word I use is “Oooooouuuuuuuuuuuccccchhhhhhiiiiiiieeeeee”! Whenever I see/hear You!

    Yours truly(and a tad bit goofy) tryant

  54. Capman911 says: 86

    Marina why is some of the words going out of the comment boxes instead of doing a word wrap?

  55. nighteye says: 85

    Well, how about the shortest word, then?

    Word Request: I

    Why do people use I to refer to themselves?

    • tryant says: 85.1

      I’m not answering,just guessing. Maybe the roman numeral for 1,,I,,has some bearing.

      Afterthought,,,isn’t “A” just as short as “I”,and,isn’t “a” considered a word? Heck,*I* dunno *a* dang thing!

      tryant(currently sober)

    • GOOD ONE nighteye. I would also be interested in why it’s that way in Russian too. The last letter of the Cyrilic alphabet (if memory serves me) is “Ya” (which is the backwards-looking R to us “Я”. By itself (again, if memory serves) it means “I” in Русский (Russian).

      Marina, that’s your neck-of-the-woods… …what do YOU say, o’ wise, polyglottymous, sylphish one of intelligence tautamount to her pulchritudity??

    • Bob says: 85.3

      Do you know how long is the shortest place name in the world?

  56. firefly087 says: 84

    Word Request : Orgasm.
    Thanks Marina!!

  57. drochalsey says: 83

    Being in research, mine would probably be something like sonoluminescence or magnetohydrodynamics… …but that aside; here’s a piece from the internet that reminds me of the research I did in 6th grade from the “Guiness book” after my teacher issued a challenge to our class concerning pneumono – - – - sis (see my previous comment under floccin – - – - tion.)

    ********
    LONGEST WORD
    According to the Guiness book of World Records, the longest word ever to
    occur in a literary work has to do with a fricassee, with 17 sweet and sour
    ingredients, including brains, honey vinegar, fish, pickles, and ouzo. The
    word appears in The Ecclesiazusae, a satirical comedy by Aristophanes
    (443-388? BC), an Athenian playwright. In Greek, the word is 170 letters,
    transliterated into English it is 182 letters.

    Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphioparaomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonotekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon.

    THAT’S the one I remember from the ‘74 edition of “Guiness Book.”

    Any suggestions… …comments… …Marina???

    BTW, was nice to see my nic in the vid for todays word, thanks.

    l8r,

    • Sorry,

      Didn’t know that it was going to go UNDER the ads. Here it is broken down for display sake.

      Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphio –
      paraomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoteke –
      phalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon.

  58. einsteineye says: 81

    how do you say supercalafragillisticexpealadocious.. I use that one daily…

  59. Capman911 says: 79

    aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

  60. bsomebody says: 77

    In some of my history papers, I need to very specific, so I will write some bigger words. I try to avoid that, though. My favorite historical writer is Samantha Power. She discusses some very complicated topics, such as 20th century genocide, yet she maintains a down to earth writing style. I try to learn much from her writing. :cool:

  61. the longest word i use is, “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”…

    i think it’s pretty self-explanatory…

    btw, you look exceptionally elegant in this video… :cool:

  62. Evan Owen says: 75

    The volcanic ash cloud in this vid looks like the Mount Saint Helens eruption of 1980. I was 30 miles away on that day, fortunately to the northwest, outside the blast zone. But I do remember the smell of the dust. :!:

  63. hello Marina!
    I was wondering if you could tell me where the phrase “cream of the crop” comes from. :smile: thanks

  64. Can you do the word, “Remember” please : )
    thank you in advance : D

  65. lvecsey says: 72

    Word request for Technocracy or Technate

    It dates back to the 1930’s

  66. Evan Owen says: 71

    ***Gwaith cartref / Homework***
    Dyma’r gair hiraf a rydw i’n defnyddio wrth sgwrsio:

    Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllandysiliogogogoch (a town in North Wales)

    When I’m travelling in Wales and chatting with the locals, I try to casually drop this into conversation (”I was travelling through Llanfair(etc.) the other day…”) This usually gets me invited to tea. :grin:

    • Anyone who has read this would probably not be impressed. However, you can use Google Earth to see that the area is not that dreary and visit overhead these landmarks described in WP:

      • Train station (53° 13′ 15.43″N 4° 12′ 33.63″W)
      • Wool shop (53° 13′ 16.18″N 4° 12′ 37.58″W)
      • St. Mary’s Church (53° 13′ 03.74″N 4° 11′ 33.34″W)
      • M of A’s Column (53° 13′ 14.96″N 4° 11″ 48.39″W)

      When I read of some place I like to “fly” there on GE, walk around and try to locate landmarks. I can’t wait until they have Street View all over the world so that you can stand just about everywhere and look in a 360° circle.

  67. Capman911 says: 70

    Riddle me this.

    As I was going to St. Ives,
    I met a man with seven wives.
    Every wife had seven sacks,
    Every sack had seven cats,
    Ever cat had seven kits;
    Kits, cats, sacks, wives,
    How many were going to St. Ives?

  68. The longest word I use in normal conversation is Praetertranssubstantiationalistically. I just get eye rolls from this though..

  69. :neutral: Hmmm, in regular conversation, maybe… “inconceivable?”

  70. andromeda says: 67

    German language is also notorious for concantenating words into longer ones (”portmanteau” words). Mark Twain poked fun at the (German) language for excess portmanteauing.

    one “normal conversation” long word :
    diversification (15)

    I would hazard a guess somewhere around 15 is in the range of 99 percentile word length distribution for colloquial lanuage. Stats are tabulated on word length distribution for the various different languages. “The Distribution of Word Length in Technical Russian” (Oettinger, 1954) stops at 18.

  71. popzzz says: 66

    .
    .
    WORD REQUEST: abliguration

  72. Homework: Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm…… :mrgreen:
    disenfranchisement? I use a lot of polysylabic words, Uh huh!
    Marina looks really tasty good as a “golden” girl. Like one of James Bond’s women… :cool:
    (Ahem) I want to point out that I was not on the list of the
    many who requested this word. I would never ask Marina for anything so long.

  73. tylerbla says: 64

    There is a word that is longer still it is Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic fifty two letters long
    What is the origin of this one?
    I was in the Guinness book of world records

  74. qtbaby1 says: 63

    could you please do the orgin of the word Bra Thank You :)

  75. actas says: 62

    Hello There! Can you explain us what is “UMQUHILE” and “TITTUP”? Thanks! :smile:

  76. danielpool says: 61

    OK Marina I’ll take your word for it :lol: Someone making words that big is just trying to be difficult . I like your choice of music at 0. 39 :cool: :cool: :cool:

  77. hlyautey says: 60

    I recently heard that the word orgasm means “a little death”. Is that true?

  78. pagedoll says: 59

    Wow! I just saw iJustine on tv in a commercial for mozy.com :shock:

    Going only by Captainjacks gravitar pic I think I may have found his true identity …It would explain the yacht! :eek:

  79. Dear HotForWords,

    My Grandfather on my Mom’s side had some thing like this. You see, he worked in a mine all of his life, and was breathing the air and it was dusty we could imagine. Anyways, in the hospital his lungs were filling up with liquid, and the doctors could not get it out faster than it was filling. So they sent him home to die…

    At home, he prayed to God, and Miraculously he got better. The Doctors still cannot explain how…

    Your Student,
    ThoughtOnFire

  80. drawuin says: 57

    Hello, I watch you online all the time and you are very interesting.

    I would like to know where the word HOBO originated and is it a bad thing to call someone a hobo?

  81. I tryto avoid using large words, I’m always afraid I’ll use the wrong word or use it in the wrong context or pronounce it wrong. Plus most of my friends are easily confused, so I just try to use simple expressions. I think it’s great that Marina started using the old theme music in her videos and putting bloopers at the end. I also think its itneresting that she started doing it about a week or so after I posted a comment requesting that she do that exact thing. I wonder if that’s why she did it?

  82. Can you please tell me the origin of Nguyen

  83. popzzz says: 54

    .
    .
    WORD REQUEST: Til the cows come home (ok phrase actually)

    This has always puzzled me because it literally means never but the cows come home every day before dark.

    Hotforwords must investigate!

  84. cecilym214 says: 53

    I have a fairly exstensive vocabulary but unfortunately my memory rivals that of a fruit fly, so actually remebering the longest word that I use in normal conversation would be next to impossible if not down-right indeterminable.Ha! I would also like to see the origins of much smaller words like: we or wee or even weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!! Cecily M :wink:

  85. Capman911 says: 52

    The longest known word. Pronounce this one Marina. :wink:

    Methionylglutaminylarginytyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalanylglut-
    aminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanyvalyl-
    prolylphenylalanylvalythreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolyglycylisoleucylglut-
    amylglutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglut-
    amylalanylglycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylglycylisoleu-
    cylprolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylleucelalanylaspartyglycylprolythreo-
    nylisoleucylglutamiylasparaginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalan-
    ylalanylglycylvalyltheonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanygllutam-
    ylmethionylleucyalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthre-
    onylisoleucylpriIylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparag-
    inylleucylvalyphenylalanylasparaginyllysylgyycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylph-
    enylalanyltyrosylalanylgutaminyllcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylavlylaspart-
    ylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalyprolylvalylglutaminylglutamyllserylal-
    anyprolyphenylalanylarginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylaspara-
    ginylvaylalanylprolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspart-
    ylalanylaspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginyglutaminylisoleucylalanyyls-
    eryltyrosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylal-
    anylglycylvalythreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylanylalanylleucyl-
    prolylleucylaspaaginylhistidylleucylvaylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosyla-
    saraginylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyl-
    lysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylalanyglycylalanylalanyglycylalanylisol-
    eucylserylglycyserylalanylisoleucylbalyllsylisoleucylisoleucylglutamyyylgluta-
    minylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylprolyglutamyllysylmethionylleucyla-
    lanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenylalabylvalylglutaminlylprolylmethionyllysylala-
    nylalanylthreonylarginylserine

    It’s the scientific name for Tryptophan synthetase, which is a protein containing 267 amino acids
    . It contains 1,846 letters. Take that, Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

    • Woooo… are you serious?? That’s equal to a long paragraph in my essays (just imagine if double-spaced) :shock:

    • James says: 52.2

      REALLY!! THATS NOTHING!!!!

      google

      “titin”

      click the 3rd one (if it doesn’t work press cached)

      THAT is the longest word…

    • popzzz says: 52.3

      .
      .
      Don’t forget about
      Acetylseryltyrosylserylisoleucylthreonylserylprolylserylglutaminylphenylalanylvalyl-phenylalnelleucylserylserylvalyotriptophylalanylaspartylprolylisoleucylglutamylleucyl-lencyllasparaginylvalylcysteinythreonylserylserylleucylglycllasparatinylglutaminylphe-nylalanylglutaminylthreonylglutaminylglutaninylalanylarginylthrseonylthreonylglutam-inylvalylglutaminyglutaninylphenylalanylserylghlutaminylvalyltryptophyllysylrolylphen-ylalaylprolyglutaminylserylthreonylvalylarginylphunylalanylprolylglycylaspartylvalylty-rosyllsvslvalyltyrosylargiyltyosvlasparaginylalanylvalylleusylaspartylprolylleucylisole-ucylthreonylalnylleucylleucylglycyltreonylphnylalanylaspartylthreonylarginlasparagin-ylarginylisoleucylislleucylglutammylvalylglutamylasparaginylglutaminylglutaminylsury-lprolylthreonylthreonylalanyoglutamylthreonylleucylaspartylalanylthreonylarginylargi-nylvalylaspartylaspartylalanylthreonylvalylalanylisoleucylarginylserylalanylasparagin-ylisoleucylasparaginylleucylvallasparaginylglutamylleucylvalylarginylglycylthreonylgl-ycylleucyltyrosylasparaginylglutaminylasparaginylthreonylphenylalanylglutamylseryl-methionylserylglycylleucylvalyltryptophylthreonylserylalanylprolylalanylserine

      The scientific name for the Tobacco Mosaic Virus (1,185 letters)

    • Are you sure you spelled that correctly? I think that in one part the L is in the wrong place and a V should be a B. Please go over it again and take a very close look. When you find it, please show me. If you do not respond with the correction within 24 hours, you will have to write this word on the blackboard 100 times. If you don’t, Marina will make you eat a dozen raw eggs, 6 pickled eggs, a jar of sauerkraut, 3 garlic cloves, two cans of cold beans and a 6 pack of Molson Canadian beer… and “sent to your room early”. :lol: :mrgreen:

    • orion_ss1 says: 52.5

      If we can agree that the reason for words in our language is to communicate effectively, then I would say that words of this length are contrary to the goal of communications and are more likely to succeed at the goal of obfuscation.

    • There needs to be a rule to prevent longer and longer words ad infinitum. I propose CampKohler’s Law: A word is long enough if it can repeat itself internally without being detected by the average reader. For example, if you can see that antiflocuamentalismantiflocuamentalism has internally repeated, why, go ahead and invent a longer word; if you can’t, it’s long enough and you needn’t bother.

  86. Wow… that’s one long word… maybe you could do a simpler word like, “juice,” something we all can relate to :wink: yum.. :mrgreen:

  87. Is it true that in the original version of the Stanford-Binet IQ test the lowest three rankings were labeled ‘moron’, ‘idiot’, and ‘imbecile’? Where did these three words come from?

    Eric M

  88. regnillam says: 48

    Wow, that is a long word. I have a couple of requests for words. The first is one letter off from my last name, Mallinger. The word is Malinger and people keep on calling me Malinger by accident due to mispronouncing my name. I know what a Malinger is and I most certainly am not one. I was just wondering where the word came from. Also, the word Glib comes to mind as one that Tom Cruise had used at some point. But long before that, it was used in a 1000 year old tale from Japan called the tale of genji by Murasaki Shikibu. I don’t think the word is 1000 years old, it was used by the person who translated it.

  89. wow Marina you looked so different back in the day – still beautiful though :mrgreen:

    so,those of us who speak greek didn’t need translation for this word
    exept for the silicon and the volcano
    but hey,I’m a geologist that speaks greek,so…

  90. fatbuffalo says: 46

    hmm , mostly i speak chinese , but in english , i try not to use words longer than 3 morphemes

  91. fatbuffalo says: 45

    Imagine a patient at a hospital trying to explain his “Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis” . He’ll be out of breath from saying the word rather than caused by it :mrgreen:

  92. hs4mm says: 44

    .
    Hello,

    To elaborate on the tweet about fitting this word on the website: The issue is that while this word’s main page can almost accommodate this word, today, the third column on the HotForWords homepage cannot accommodate it, and, tomorrow, the middle column is unlikely to be able to accommodate it either. At least for IE6!

    The solution might be to introduce a soft-hyphens after each of this word’s syllables. The HTML symbol for the soft-hyphen is ­ [ampersand followed by the four characters shy;]. In general, the browser would render the soft-hyphen invisible; but if the browser needed to break a line that lacked white-space to break at, it would break at a soft-hyphen after rendering the soft-hyphen as a regular hyphen.

    –Hs4Mm
    .

  93. Capman911 says: 43

    Hey check out Marina on the Cover of Cool English Magazine In Recent Posts.

  94. nenakai1961 says: 41

    Hello Marina,
    I love your facial expressions ;) Very cute :) I usually try to talk at the level of my listener(s). Unfortunately I do not talk to any one that uses big, long words. The longest word that I know I have used is: Antidisestablishmentarianism. I have watched your lesson on that word as well. Maybe we can start a new trend and have you research short words like ” a ” or ” I “. Thanks 4 the knowledge & BGood!
    n1961

  95. animalntaz says: 40

    Oh that’s the volcanic term I was trying to remember….. a pyroclastic flow.

  96. cufan71 says: 39

    Homework :cool:
    Marina you’re pure GOLD in this lesson! :grin: The longest word I have used is hippopotamus. Anything longer and I can’t pronounce it! I like the new intro also! :grin:

  97. James says: 38

    seeing this makes me want to film me saying the longest word ever tomorrow. Its 189,000 letters long… I hope i have enough memory in my camera!

  98. Great lesson :grin:
    Homework: I try not to use a lot of big words. They tend to confuse people, so sometimes I have to dumb myself down.
    eg instead of asinine I say dumb or stupid
    instead of facetious I say humorous
    instead of inebriated I say drunk

  99. Hey Marina! I have a request. I was wondering what the origin of Margarita was. I never knew it.

  100. James says: 35

    I would have been 69th if it wasn’t for me not being able to sign in

    Sorry Marina, It just sorted itself… You can delete that thread now.

  101. osiris999 says: 34

    OMG !!!То слово дает мне головную боль!!! Где водочка??? Вы управляя мной к питью!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!! :evil:

  102. moscht says: 33

    Stupid word…not funny at all.

  103. rol1134 says: 32

    Dear Hot for Words,

    I would like to request the origins of the word LUDICROUS. I always thought it meant the same thing as the word RIDICULOUS, but surely they must be different.

    Thank you and have a good new year.

    The calendar is great!

    Love, rol1134

  104. CaptainJack says: 31

    Thank you…Thank you…Thank you… for doing this word. My reply button is just about broken. Whew! Now I can get some work done.

  105. Loudfighter says: 30

    The longest word i sey is: (haha)
    Actualy i dont remember!
    Marina how can you sey that word and remember it? :-) :grin:

  106. Mixaeel says: 29

    the word :arrow: PWN :?: as like pwned (”You just got pwned :!: )
    it referes to owned and we all know what that means… so if you could investigate and find out how did this term came into life :wink: I already know, but think that others dont. So?

  107. maxpappy says: 28

    Awesome video, Marina. I am impressed that you can even say the word, let alone give the origin of it. Also, thanks for putting such high production values in this. Your scrolling pictures introducing each words are really fun to see, as well as the little added pop-ups. I love your sense of humor. Keep up the great work.

  108. Hey, I just did a quick voting check. Marina votes are doing great. I just pestered asked twenty of my close friends to get their mice clicking. Looking good and the day just got going. Next chart update tomorrow morning around 4 AM :grin:

  109. animalntaz says: 26

    I figured from part of the word, that it had something to do with volcanic ash. But I blanked out on the “pneumono” part and confused it with other words for memory or mechanical air pressure. :roll:

    • orion_ss1 says: 26.1

      Actually, if you think about the mechanism your lungs use to move air in and out, it ( mechanical air pressure ) DOES make sense. The debris that blocks some lung area from effectively exchanging oxygen for CO2 means the lungs must work harder so that the remaining area can get the air needed. When you are working and need more volume, your lungs must work even harder, and it should be obvious your max breathing effort will be reached sooner ( at a lower work level ) so that you can’t work as hard as you could before.

  110. jamesfye says: 25

    yes its a real word because all words were made up at one time or another,as long as it describes what it is intended to describe.i would be hard pressed to figure out what the longest word i use every day was maybe ill look in to it on a later date.

  111. Marina, thank you for finally doing this video.
    My mouse was getting worn out for pointing everyone to your comment back in April. Phew! Now, I only have to point them to the Words List. :grin:

  112. Thank you so much for finally doing a lesson with this word!

  113. orion_ss1 says: 22

    I am proud to report that I don’t think I have ever counted the number of letters in words I use in normal conversation ( or abnormal conversation ). I occaissionally count letters doing a crossword ( or other ) puzzle, but that is arguably different.

    I also rarely use a word I can’t spell ( altough I make my fair share of typos ).

    I would argue ( in the forensic sense ) that a word made up for the sole purpose of being a long word is not a word made up for any other reason than effective communications. Scientists will invent new words to distinguish between similar but different properties of something. For example, most would probabaly understand what I mena if I used the word ‘elastic’. But there is a difference between stretching and compressing a material, and also the ability to resist permanent deformation, and an Engineer will also create words to aid in the measurement of these properties. These words DO aid in communications so I would opine that they are in fact words. ( In Wikipedia look up Young’s Modulus and you’ll get a good idea of what I mean. )

  114. The longest word I use is furryfatfourleggedfoodbags… in reference to the dogs and cats that I talk to. :grin:

  115. People make up words all the time. The word “Muggle” j.k rowling made up in Harry Potter books just made it’s way into the Webster dictionary as someone without any skill or unique abilities. Also, the word “truthiness” as stated by Operah, also made it’s way into everyday language. In general, there have been several “editions” to the library to accomodate everyday terminology and jargon, such as the dictionary of slang and the urban dictionary. Ironically, the average American dictionary has decreased by about 10,000 words since 1930’s – 1960’s. The reason for this is that less and less people apply root, Romantic languages when developing a new word. With that being said, I must say that today’s “pneumono…” word is more of a word than “Muggle”.

    The longest words I use on a regular basis are “cappuccino”, “indubitably”, “incandescence”.

    Speaking of incandescence, Marina you looked absolutely radiant today.

  116. wetsuit5 says: 19

    Great Service Marina,

    Thanks for pointing the students to a cheap source for textbooks.
    And just in time for the new term.

    Gonna have to really think about the longest term I normally use.

    I like communication and it doesnt make any sense to use terms the other person wouldn’t understand. And I don’t have any need to make them feel bad by talking over their heads. Bush doesn’t have this problem.

  117. Che Volay says: 18

    This lung disease sounds like Valley Fever

  118. Marina,
    Excellent video. You had me on the edge of my seat again.

    You must have been reading my mind. I was just watching your BIG WORDS video the other day, which I happen to love as one of my favorites, and I was wondering about that web site as I was thinking of getting some books.

  119. John says: 16

    Dichlorodifluoromethane
    Marina, This is about the longest word I have ever tried to use in everyday speech, other then that maybe hippopotamus or maybe elephant is the longest in every day speech, I am no geek obviously (not wealthy) and no nerd (although I am socially inept) because the details of technology don’t interest me enough to learn them.

    • Capman911 says: 16.1

      Hey John let me tell you a little something about Dichlorodifluoromethane or R12. If a vehicle is running and the R12 gets into the carburetor the exhaust coming out of the tail pipe turns into phosgene gas which is extremely deadly. That is one of the reasons R 12 is rarely used any more and vehicles are switched to R34A. Plus R 12 is very bad for the atmosphere. Phosgene is formed by the combustion and the heat of the engine and mixing with the carbon monoxide that is a result of burned gas.

  120. leonard says: 15

    :roll: So a word can replace a sentence. I stanza too….Lang.u/age skills :-) Soul all jesters and symbols have a spell with the meaning of babble verses action. fix :wink: & :oops: repair :roll: @%of$ spaced # 1 :lol:

  121. Fianchetto says: 14

    Homework: Mostly, I am at work. Most of my fellow employees have trouble understanding more than mono-syllabic grunts and simple hand gestures. I count myself lucky to have you and my fellow students to have an actual conversation with. :grin:

  122. seesixcm6 says: 13

    Dear совершенная Marina, I’m sorry you had to spend $219 for a book just because of word requests from people too cheap or lazy to look up the origins, themselves! I hope that expensive book will be useful to you for many other of your videos. After all, you probably need to sell many dozens of calendars to make $219 in profit. It’s difficult for all of us to earn money. :sad:
    What a beautiful necklace and bracelet/bangle you wore. You never wore much jewelry in previous videos, and it’s nice to see you occasionally wear jewelry. My mother warned my sister not to wear jewelry very often, because others might try to steal it. Your dress is very beautiful. :grin:
    So, the long word I use most frequently in writing to you is “beautiful.” I know there are many substitute words, like pretty, lovely, cute, neat, outtasight, wayaottasight, pultritudeniness, attractive, easy-on-the-eyes, charming, tasty, affectionate, delicious, embraceable, hugable, perfect, and not only all those, you said you don’t bite! :razz:
    I’ll keep using the word, beautiful, in writing to you.
    С влюбленностью к Марине. seesixcm6

  123. dudesonroad says: 11

    to pull apart :wink:

    This word seldom see serious use, but it illustrates the lenghts to which innovation using foreign word elements may be taken.

    It is made up of a number of elements, many of which are already familiar to you by themselves or as they appear as parts of other words.

    These include pneumon (which is also part of the name for the lung disease pneumonia), ultra “extremely” (as in ultraconservative), microscopic, silic (as in the word silicon), volcan, and -osis (as in tuberculosis or neurosis) “medical condition” or “disease”.

    The most unfamiliar element of the word is coni, which means “dust” in specialized terms such as conidium, a type of spore, and coniology “study of the health effects of dust”.

    It is also related to the element cin “ashes” in incinerate.

    So pneumon-o-ultra-microscopic-silic-o-volcan-o-coni-osis literally means “lung-extremely-microscopic-silicon-volcanic-dust-disease” or, to rearrange things a bit more sensibly, “lung disease (caused by) microscopic volcanic silicon dust”.

  124. leonard says: 9

    Antidisestablishmentarianism cool

  125. basch says: 8

    c000l word.
    I’d like to request the word:
    Marina
    that’s it
    thanks :mrgreen:

  126. jindai says: 5

    Over on Twitter, Authors J.C. Hutchins (jchutchins), Christiana Ellis (ChristianaEllis), twitter users bwassink, and HoboZero, and I were debating why Toboggan is both a thing you ride on, (as well as the verb for sliding down a hill,) and a thing you wear on your head. How did one word end up with such divergent meanings, we would surely like to know. Could you help, oh great teacher?