Zenzizenzizenzic is the eighth power or exponent of a number. For example the zenzizenzizenzic of 2 is 256. It was suggested by Robert Recorde, a 16th century Welsh writer of popular mathematics textbooks, in The Whetstone of Witte, published in 1557, although his spelling was zenzizenzizenzike. In mathematics, exponentiation (frequently known colloquially as raising a number to a power) is a process generalized from repeated (or iterated) multiplication, in much the same way that multiplication is a process generalized from repeated addition. ... A number is an abstract entity that represents a count or measurement. ... Robert Recorde (c. ... The Welsh (Cymry) are an ethnic group or nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language, which is a Celtic language. ... Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, known today as the father of geometry; shown here in a detail of The School of Athens by Raphael. ... Events Spain is effectively bankrupt. ...

Page from The Whetstone of Witte 1557. Zenzizenzizenzike occurs at the top of the right hand page. Click to enlarge

It is obsolete except as a curiosity; the Oxford English Dictionary has only one citation for it. It survives as an historical oddity. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1411x1019, 341 KB) Summary Robert Recorde The Whetstone of Witte (1557) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1411x1019, 341 KB) Summary Robert Recorde The Whetstone of Witte (1557) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus... The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), and is generally regarded as the most comprehensive and scholarly dictionary of the English language. ...

The root word, is the German zenzic from the Italian censo, meaning "squared".

It dates from a time when there was no easy way of denoting the powers of numbers except as squares and cubes. The fourth power was represented by the square of a square, zenzizenzic, which is a condensed form of the Italian censo di censo, used by Leonardo of Pisa in his famous book Liber Abaci of 1202 . Drawing of Leonardo Pisano Leonardo of Pisa or Leonardo Pisano (Pisa, c. ... Liber Abaci (1202) is an historic book on arithmetic by Leonardo of Pisa, known later by his nickname Fibonacci. ... // Events August 1 - Arthur of Brittany captured in Mirebeau, north of Poitiers Beginning of the Fourth Crusade. ...

The eighth power is by extension zenzizenzizenzic. Similarly the sixth power would be zenzicube, the square of a cube.

Zenzizenzizenzic has more Z's than any other known word in the English language. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

External link

• Entry at Weird Words