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Look up floccinaucinihilipilification in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Floccinaucinihilipilification (listen (help· info) American English: listen (help· info); see below for more pronunciation possibilities) (or variously floccipaucinihilipilification) is "the act or habit of estimating or describing something as worthless, or making something to be worthless by deprecation". This word is frequently used in math and math related subjects. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... Image File history File links Floccinaucinihilipilification. ... Image File history File links Floc. ... Look up floccinaucinihilipilification in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Deprecation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

With 29 letters, it is the longest non-technical word in the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which presents it as "enumerated in a well-known rule from the Eton Latin Grammar". The OED dates its first use in literature at 1741 in William Shenstone's Works in Prose and Verse: "I loved him for nothing so much as his flocci-nauci-nihili-pili-fication of money". The longest word in English depends upon the definition of what constitutes an English word. ... The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), and is the most successful dictionary of the English language, (not to be confused with the one-volume Oxford Dictionary of English, formerly New Oxford Dictionary of English, of... William Shenstone William Shenstone (November 13, 1714 – February 11, 1763) was an English poet and one of the earliest practitioners of landscape gardening through the development of his estate, The Leasowes. ...

Though the OED gives no specifics on its derivation, the word is said to have been invented as an erudite joke by a student of Eton College, who, upon consulting a Latin textbook, found four ways of saying "don't care" and combined them: There are several meanings of derivation: A derivation in abstract algebra is a linear map that satisfies Leibniz law. ... The word Erudition came into Middle English from Latin. ... The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a public school (privately funded and independent) for boys, founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. It is located in Eton, near Windsor in England, north of Windsor Castle, and... For other uses, see Latins and Latin (disambiguation). ...

• flocci facere (from floccus, -i a wisp or piece of wool)
• nauci facere (from naucum, -i a trifle)
• nihili facere (from nihil, -i nothing; something valueless (lit. "not even a thread" from ni+hilum))
• pili facere (from pilus, -i a hair; a bit or a whit; something small and insignificant)

It is often spelled with hyphens, and has even spawned the back formations floccinaucical (inconsiderable or trifling) and floccinaucity (the essence or quality of being of small importance). The OED appears to have overlooked floccinaucinihilipilificatious, which has one letter more than the nominal form, and means "small" or "insignificant." When the common English nominal suffix -ness is then added to the above adjective, a thirty-four letter noun floccinaucinihilipilificatiousness is formed, which means "smallness" or "insignificance." In etymology, the process of back-formation is the creation of a neologism by reinterpreting an earlier word as a derivation and removing apparent affixes, or more generally, by reconstructing an original form from any kind of derived form (including abbreviations or inflected forms). ...

Pronunciation

A number of pronunciations have been suggested for this word, including the following (shown in IPA):

• /ˌflɒkɨˌnɒkɨˌnɪhɨlɨˌpɪlɨfɨˈkeɪʃən/
• /ˌflɒksɨˌnɔːsɨˌnaɪɨlɨˌpɪlɨfɨˈkeɪʃən/
• /ˌflɒksɨˌnaʊsɨˌnɪhɨlɨˌpɪlɨfɨkeɪʃən/
• /ˌflɒtʃiˌnaʊtʃinɨˌhɪliˌpɪlifaɪˈkeɪʃən/
• /ˌflɒsɨˌnɔːsinɨˌhɪlɨˌpɪlɨfɨˈkeɪʃən/
• /ˌflɒksiˌnoʊsiˌnaɪhiliˌpɪlifɨˈkeɪʃən/
• /ˌflɒsɨˌnɑʊsɨˌnɪhɨlɨˌpɪlɨfɨˈkeɪʃən/

The most Anglicized pronunciation is /ˌflɒksɨˌnɔːsɨˌnaɪhɨlɨˌpɪlɨfɨˈkeɪʃən/.

Noted occurrences

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Floccinaucinihilipilification

• The word was used in a commercial for Geico insurance. A judge struggles to pronounce the word for a child to spell in a spelling bee.
• Jo Brand on QI, episode 2x05 (aired 5 November 2004), in the process of guessing a word invented by Thomas Edison:

Alan Davies: Crikey.

Stephen Fry: No, not crikey.

Jo Brand: Floccinaucinihilipilification.

Stephen Fry: He didn't invent that word, but well done for knowing it. Which means— ?

Jo Brand: The act of assessing something as worthless.

Stephen Fry: Very correct.

• The word appeared in a Double Jeopardy! Round REALLY LONG WORDS clue in game #4962 of Jeopardy!, aired 2006-03-21. Alex Trebek humorously gave up trying to pronounce the word while reading the clue. [1]
• Episode 14 of The Brak Show featured the word. After a thorough freestyle hip-hop trouncing from a record store clerk stemming from a disagreement over his chances at an upcoming rap contest, Brak defiantly announced that loser was not in his vocabulary—but neither was floccinaucinihilipilification.
• U.S. Senators Robert Byrd and Daniel Patrick Moynihan discussed the word on the Senate floor on June 17, 1991. [2] Senator Byrd noted that he had used the word two or three years earlier on the Senate floor. Senator Moynihan was attempting to establish the longer variant: floccinaucinihilipilificationism.
• United States Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) proclaimed his floccinaucinihilipilification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in a July 1999 hearing. Helms claimed he learned the word from fellow senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
• Mike McCurry, Bill Clinton's press secretary, used the word in a 1995 press briefing.[3]
• Used in the BBC quiz show Catchword as the player using the longest word in some rounds got a bonus.
• It is the title of a 1996 recording from the Chicago-area noise music group Panicsville released on Nihilist Records.
• On episode #6 of the first season of the Nickelodeon show, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Jennifer Mosely was knocked out of James K. Polk's annual spelling bee because of this word. It was mispronounced "Flouxen-ousen-ihi-pilification."
• Robert A. Heinlein used it at least twice; once in The Puppet Masters, where the narrator and main character 'Sam' refers to an individual as a floccinaucinihilipilificator, giving it the definition of "a joker who does not believe in anything he can't bite", and once in The Number of the Beast, where Capt. Z. John Carter used the feminine form of floccinaucinihilipilificatrix when referring to his mother-in-law, Hilda Mae Burroughs.
• In Robert A. Heinlein's The Number of the Beast, the character Deety uses it in reply to Zebadiah informing her that she misspelled "Gay Deceiver, take us home" (p. 138 of paperback edition).
• Patrick O'Brian used a hyphenated version in 1970's Master and Commander. The character Stephen Maturin said: "There is a systematic 'flocci-nauci-nihili-pilification' of all other aspects of existence that angers me".
• Adam Spencer's Book of Numbers gives an example of how to use floccinaucinihilipilification in context:
  • Fred: Hey Bill, have you heard the new Celine Dion album?
  • Bill: It's absolute crap!
  • Fred: Well, there's no need for floccinaucinihilipilification.
• In her book The Way They Learn, Cynthia Tobias uses floccinaucinihilipilification as an example of how a person learns to remember, spell, and pronounce words through their learning style (auditory, visual, or kinesthetic).
• David Myers uses the word in the eighth edition of his Psychology textbook when he discusses the negative effects of low self-esteem:
  • "Disparage yourself and you will be prone to the floccinaucinihilipilification of others" (Myers 633)
• It was used in closing credits once in a Pinky and the Brain cartoon (Warner Bros.). The word with its definition was mixed in with the rest of the rolling credits. (Episode 13)
• Used to minute a decision by Comberton Parish Council (Cambridge, UK) See section 2.3 of Comberton PC Minuteswhere they had (eventually) decided that land they had just spent ~GBP60K on acquiring was, for the purposes of paying government tax, now of zero value since it was now 'public open space' and couldn't be developed.
• Matthew Bellamy ( after some drinks ) in an interview ( see here http://youtube.com/watch?v=ymZ7fFropEk&feature=related )
• Felipe Fernandez-Armesto uses it on page 59 of his book Amerigo: The Man Who Gave His Name to America as an example of his superior intelligence: "they added a dexterous piece of floccinaucinihilipilification."
• Episode 73 of Wife Swap (aired 02-28-2008) featured the word. After the "new" mother, Karen Sutton, complains about her host family using too many big words (such as "anonymous"), 16 year old Cassie Myers uses the word as an example of what she considered a "big word."
• Sometime in the late 50's or early 60's, the word was used on BBC Radio 4's (then the BBC Home Service)"Round the Horne". The cast were discussing the Flanders and Swann song, "Mud, Mud, Gloriuous Mud"; one member argued that any word could be substituted for 'mud', and Kenneth Horne tried out 'floccinaucinihilipilification'. It didn't work very well.

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Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English comedian, writer, actor, humourist, novelist, columnist, filmmaker and television personality. ... Jo Brand (born Josephine Grace Brand 3 May 1957, Hastings, East Sussex) is an English comedienne. ... Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English comedian, writer, actor, humourist, novelist, columnist, filmmaker and television personality. ... Jo Brand (born Josephine Grace Brand 3 May 1957, Hastings, East Sussex) is an English comedienne. ... Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English comedian, writer, actor, humourist, novelist, columnist, filmmaker and television personality. ... Jeopardy redirects here. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Alex Trebek, with his once-iconic mustache, hosting a 1986 episode of Jeopardy! George Alexander Trebek (born as Giorgi Suka-Alex Trebek [1] on July 22, 1940) is an Emmy Award-winning Canadian-American television personality and game show host whos best known as the host of the game... The Brak Show is one of Cartoon Networks 15-minute animated series that airs during Adult Swim. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards and make it easier to understand, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Brak as seen on Cartoon Planet Brak (right) and his brother Sisto from the 1966 cartoon Voldemar H. Brak Guerta is the name of the main character in The Brak Show on Cartoon Network. ... Look up loser in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Robert Carlyle Byrd (born November 20, 1917) is the senior United States Senator from West Virginia and a member of the Democratic Party. ... Daniel Patrick “Pat” Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was a United States Senator, Ambassador, and eminent sociologist. ... Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. ... Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Opened for signature September 10, 1996[1] in New York Entered into force Not yet in force Conditions for entry into force The treaty will enter into force 180 days after it is ratified by all of the following 44 (Annex 2) countries: Algeria, Argentina... Daniel Patrick “Pat” Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was a United States Senator, Ambassador, and eminent sociologist. ... Mike McCurry conducts a White House press conference Mike McCurry (born 27 October 1954) is best known as the former press secretary for Bill Clintons administration. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official with a rank one step below Presidential Cabinet level. ... Catchword was a daytime word game show that first broadcasted on BBC1 from 17 April 1985 until 2 April 1986 hosted by Gyles Brandreth and then broadcasted on its sister channel BBC2 from 5 January 1988 until 23 May 1995 hosted by Paul Coia. ... Noise music is music composed of non-traditional musical elements, and lacks the structure associated with Western Music. ... Panicsville is a Chicago noise music group founded in 1992 by Andy Ortmann (founder of Nihilist Records) with David Forquer and Ryan Kohler. ... The Nihilist Records label releases noise music albums, and is similar to labels like Load Records and Hanson Records, though it tends to release bands that are more controversial or offensive in a sensational manner. ... Neds Declassified School Survival Guide, sometimes shortened to Neds Declassified or Neds, was an American live-action situation comedy on Nickelodeon that debuted in the channels Sunday night TEENick scheduling block on September 12, 2004 in The United States of America. ... Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of hard science fiction. ... In 1951, Robert A. Heinlein published a science fiction novel, The Puppet Masters, in which American secret agents battle parasitic invaders from outer space. ... The Number of the Beast is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1980. ... Hilda Burroughs, ne Hilda Corners, nicknamed Sharpie or Sharp Corners, is one of the two female lead characters in Robert A. Heinleins novel The Number of the Beast. ... Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of hard science fiction. ... The Number of the Beast is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1980. ... Patrick OBrian (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000; born as Richard Patrick Russ) was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centered on the friendship of Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish... Master and Commander is a historical naval novel by Patrick OBrian. ... David G. Myers is a professor of Psychology at Hope College, and the author of several books, including a popular textbook entitled Psychology. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article describes both the animated television series, and the characters from that series. ... 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See also

Main article: Longest word in English

• Antidisestablishmentarianism
• Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
• Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
• Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

The longest word in English depends upon the definition of what constitutes an English word. ... Look up Antidisestablishmentarianism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The English suffixes -phobia, -phobic, -phobe (of Greek origin) occur in technical usage in psychiatry to construct words that describe irrational, disabling fear as a mental disorder (e. ... Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (pronounced ) is an English word in the song with the same title in the musical film Mary Poppins. ... Look up pneumonoultramicroscopic- silicovolcanoconiosis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

External links

• "Floccinaucinihilipilification" by Michael Quinion World Wide Words;
• "Floccinaucinihilipilification" Dr. Goodword Alpha Dictionary;
• "Floccinaucinihilipilification video" by HotForWords YouTube