Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
| Classification according to ICD-10 | |
|---|---|
| J62.8 | Pneumoconiosis due to other quartz dust |
| ICD-10 online (WHO version 2019) | |
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis , at 45 letters, is the longest word ever to appear in a major English dictionary. It refers to the disease known in Germany as quartz dust lung . See also Silicosis and Pneumoconiosis .
The word was invented as a made-up word in 1935 by Everett M. Smith , President of the English National Puzzlers' League , at their annual meeting. It was actually a hoax that was only intended to serve as the longest English word, but was later adopted by English doctors as the name for the pneumonia.
Word components
The word is made up of the following components:
- pneumon is Greek for lung .
- ultra is Latin for beyond . See also Ultra .
- microscopic is derived from the Greek mikros (small) and skopein (to look at ) . See also -skop and microscope .
- silico is derived from the Latin silex ( pebble ) . See also sand and silicon .
- volcano is Latin and is derived from Vulcanus . See also volcano .
- coniosis is derived from the Greek kónis ( dust ) and osis for disease .
Web links
Wiktionary: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis - explanations of meanings, word origins , synonyms, translations
