pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌnjuːmə.nəʊ.ʌl.tɹə.maɪ.kɹəʊˌskɒ.pɪkˌsɪ.lɪ.kəʊ.vɒl.keɪ.nəʊ.kəʊ.niˈəʊ.sɪs/
enpr: no͞o-män'ō-ŭl-trə-mī-krə-skäpʹĭk-sĭl'ē-kō-väl-kā-nō-kō-nē-ōʹsĭs
ipa: /nuˌmɑ.noʊ.ʌl.tɹə.maɪ.kɹoʊˈskɑ.pɪkˌsɪ.lɪ.koʊ.vɑl.kæ.noʊ.kä.niˈoʊ.sɪs/
rhymes: -əʊsɪs
Forms: form: pneumono­ultra­microscopic­silico­volcano­koniosis
form: pneumon­ultra­microscopic­silico­volcano­coniosis
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *plew-
Proto-Indo-European *-mṓ
Proto-Indo-European *pléwmō
Ancient Greek πλεύμων (pleúmōn)
Proto-Indo-European *pnew-
Ancient Greek πνέω (pnéō)influ.
Proto-Indo-European *pnew-
Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥
Proto-Indo-European *pnéwmn̥
Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma)influ.
Ancient Greek πνεύμων (pneúmōn)
Ancient Greek -ο- (-o-)der.
Latin -o-bor.
German -o-
German Pneumono-
Proto-Indo-European *ken-der.
Ancient Greek κόνις (kónis)
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Ancient Greek -σις (-sis)
Ancient Greek -ωσις (-ōsis)bor.
New Latin -ōsislbor.
German -osis
German Pneumonokoniosisbor.
English pneumonoconiosis
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-
Latin ūls
Proto-Indo-European *-teros?
Latin -ter
Old Latin -ād
Latin -ā
Latin ultrālbor.
English ultra-
Proto-Indo-European *mey-der.?
Ancient Greek μῑκρός (mīkrós)
Proto-Indo-European *speḱ-
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti
Proto-Hellenic *sképťomai
Ancient Greek σκέπτομαι (sképtomai)
Proto-Hellenic *-os
Ancient Greek -ος (-os)
Ancient Greek -ός (-ós)
Ancient Greek σκοπός (skopós)
Proto-Indo-European *-eti
Proto-Indo-European *-eyéti
Proto-Indo-European *-esyéti
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti
Ancient Greek -έω (-éō)
Ancient Greek σκοπέω (skopéō)
Proto-Indo-European *-yós
Old Latin -ios
Latin -ius
Latin -ium
Latin mīcroscopiumlbor.
Italian microscopiobor.
English microscope
Proto-Indo-European *-kos
Proto-Italic *-kos
Latin -cus
Latin -icuslbor.
Old French -iquebor.
Middle English -ik
English -ic
English microscopic
English ultramicroscopic
New Latin silex
New Latin -ium
New Latin siliciumlbor.
English silicium
Proto-Indo-European *kerh₃-der.?
Latin carbōlbor.
French carbonebor.
English carbonbf.
English -on
English silicon
Latin -o-bor.
English -o-
English silico-
Doric Greek Ϝέλχανος (Wélkhanos)der.?
Latin Vulcānusbor.
Italian Vulcano
Italian vulcanobor.
English volcano
English pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Coined by puzzle designer Everett Smith, President of the National Puzzlers' League, at their convention in 1935 as a deliberately long word. An extension of the medical term pneumonoconiosis (by surface analysis, pneumono- (“lung”) + coniosis (“disease caused by the inhalation of dust”)) with ultramicroscopic + silico- + volcano inserted between the two elements.
Senses: examples: text: Call it miner's asthma, silicosis, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, or black lung—they are all dust diseases with the same symptoms.
ref: 1980 March, Lorin E. Kerr, “Black Lung”, in Journal of Public Health Policy, volume 1, number 1, →JSTOR, page 50:
text: I say that it must be the silica dust
That we breathed through our mouths and our noses
That brought pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
ref: 1998 August 27, Smokey, “Lament for a Lung Disease”, in talk.bizarre (Usenet), message-ID <6s3r8o$brt$1@camel15.mindspring.com>:
text: It's either pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, or a bad cough.
ref: 2002 December 18, Pod, “Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis”, in alt.fan.scarecrow (Usenet), message-ID <iHSL9.2091$h43.295898@stones>:
text: I still can't watch House M.D. and not have my mind wonder[…] Even I can fear of^([sic]) having Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis after watching it.
ref: 2011 April 28, Kurt D. Stradtman, Am I the Person My Mother Warned Me About?: A Four-year College Experience ... Only the Good Parts, Xlibris, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 90:
text: Regarding the lack of funding and attention do you agree that there should be parity of esteem between mental conditions such as body dysmorphia and physical conditions such as pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
ref: 2017 July 31, Michael Bryan, quotee, “Boy, 16, uses 'longest word' in Parliament”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 03 Aug 2017:
glosses: A disease of the lungs, allegedly caused by inhaling microscopic silicate particles originating from the eruption of a volcano.
wikipedia: National Puzzlers' League
Hypernyms: pneumoconiosis
silicosis
Coordinate terms: black lung
potter's rot
miner's cough