Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (/njuːˌmɒnoʊˌʌltrəˌmaɪkrəˈskɒpɪkˌsɪlɪkoʊvɒlˌkeɪnoʊˌkɒnaɪˈoʊsɪs/ (About this sound listen)[1][2]) is a word invented by the president of the National Puzzlers' League as a synonym for the disease known as silicosis. It is the longest word in the English language published in a dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary, which defines it as "an artificial long word said to mean a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine ash and sand dust."[3]

Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust, and is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneumoconiosis.

Contents  [hide]
1	Etymology
2	In popular culture
3	See also
4	References
Etymology[edit]
This word was invented at the annual meeting of the National Puzzlers' League (N.P.L.) by its president Everett M. Smith. The word featured in the headline for an article published by the New York Herald Tribune on February 23, 1935, titled "Puzzlers Open 103rd Session Here by Recognizing 45-Letter Word":

Pneumono­ultra­microscopic­silico­volcano­coniosis succeeded electrophotomicrographically as the longest word in the English language recognized by the National Puzzlers' League at the opening session of the organization's 103rd semi-annual meeting held yesterday at the Hotel New Yorker. The puzzlers explained that the forty-five-letter word is the name of a special form of pneumoconiosis caused by ultra-microscopic particles of silica volcanic dust...

Subsequently, the word was used in a puzzle book, Bedside Manna, after which time, members of the N.P.L. campaigned to include the word in major dictionaries.[4]

This 45-letter word, referred to as "P45",[5] first appeared in the 1939 supplement to the Merriam-Webster New International Dictionary, Second Edition.[6]

In popular culture[edit]
On 14 July 2017, sixteen year old Michael Bryan used the word during a select committee meeting of the UK Parliament to highlight the “grave inconsistency” of addressing health conditions, with physical problems given greater precedent than mental health issues.[7] It did not become the longest word ever printed in Hansard, the official record, because it occurred during a select committee meeting, not during parliamentary proceedings.
American songwriter Tim Siler used the word as the basis for a song of the same name.[8]

See also[edit]
	Look up pneumono… in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Vog#Health hazards
Longest words in English
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
List of long place names
Coalworker's pneumoconiosis
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
Jump up ^ "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis". Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Jump up ^ "Definition of pneumono­ultra­microscopic­silico­volcano­coniosis in Oxford dictionary (British and World English)". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19.
Jump up ^ Cole, Chris (1999). Wordplay, A Curious Dictionary of Language Oddities. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. pp. 106–107. ISBN 0-8069-1797-0.
Jump up ^ Cole, Chris. (1989.) "The Biggest Hoax". Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics, via wordways.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
Jump up ^ Miller, Jeff. "A collection of word oddities and trivia: page 11, long words". (Personal website.) Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
Jump up ^ BBC: Boy uses 'longest word' in Parliament
Jump up ^ Tim Siler – "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" live @ Canal Street Tavern, 2010-04-08