What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

What is the difference between hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia and pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis?

hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia | pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis |

As nouns the difference between hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia and pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

is that hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is the fear of long words while pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is a factitious disease of the lungs, allegedly caused by inhaling microscopic silicate particles originating from eruption of a volcano.

hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

English

Alternative forms

* hippopotomonstrosesquipp edaliophobia (common misspelling, perhaps on purpose, to make the word even longer)

Noun

(-)
  • The fear of long words.

    • Usage notes

    * It is unlikely that this 15-syllable contrivance is ever used purely for its meaning. The term (sesquipedalophobia) is recognized in formal writing, while the four-syllable phrase (term) is certainly worth considering.

    Quotations

    * {{quote-news, passage=However, we assume that despite the best endeavours of science, some phobias will always remain. These include paraskavedekatriaphobia, or fear of Friday the 13th. And hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia , which is fear of long words. , year=2002 , work=The Scotsman , author=anonymous , date=April 19 , page=13 , i2=*:}} * {{quote-news, i2=*: , passage=Those who find this column troubling are suffering from hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - the fear of long words. Or, more likely, rupophobia - a fear of rubbish. , year=2002 , date=December 14 , author=Chris Lloyd , work=The Northern Echo , page=10 , pageurl=http://archive.thenorthernecho.co.uk/2002/12/14/111178.html}} * 2005 September 30, D. Harlan Wilson, Pseudo-City , p183 (Raw Dog Screaming Press; ISBN 1933293020 (10), ISBN 978-1933293028 (13)) *: Coincidentally there is a masochistic PCP with hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (fear of long words) curled up in an alleyway across the street. He has been whispering “Antidisestablishmentarianism” to himself over and over for two days now, experiencing up to one orgasm every three hours as a result of The Pain?

    Synonyms

    * sesquipedalophobia

    Related terms

    * sesquipedalian

    pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

    English

    Alternative forms

    * pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcano-coniosis * pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis *

    Noun

    (pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses)
  • (label) A factitious disease of the lungs, allegedly caused by inhaling microscopic silicate particles originating from eruption of a volcano.
  • * {{quote-journal
    • , year = 1980 , month = March , title = Black Lung , first = Lorin E. , last = Kerr , journal = Journal of Public Health Policy , volume = 1 , issue = 1 , page = 50 , jstor = 3342357 , passage = Call it miner's asthma, silicosis, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis , coal workers' pneumoconiosis, or black lung—they are all dust diseases with the same symptoms. }}
  • * {{quote-newsgroup
    • , date = 1998-08-27 , title = Lament for a Lung Disease , author = Smokey , newsgroup = talk.bizarre , id = 6s3r8o$brt$1@camel15.mindspring.com , url = http://groups.google.com/group/talk.bizarre/browse_thread/thread/3db7020dcb5b531e/cbd79ebd7c266219?q=pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis , passage = I say that it must be the silica dust
    That we breathed through our mouths and our noses
    That brought pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis . }}
  • * {{quote-newsgroup
    • , date = 2002-12-18T04:19:52 , group = alt.fan.scarecrow , author = Pod , title = Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis , id = iHSL9.2091$h43.295898@stones , url = http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.scarecrow/msg/39876843908f9513 , passage = It's either pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis , or a bad cough. }}
  • * {{quote-book
    • , date = 2011-04-28 , title = Am I the Person My Mother Warned Me About?: A Four-year College Experience ... Only the Good Parts , first = Kurt D. , last = Stradtman , publisher = Xlibris , isbn = 9781462862887 , lccn = 2011906469 , page = 90 , pageurl = http://books.google.com/books?id=06v2Q_rL_dAC&pg=PA90&dq=pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis , passage = 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. }}

    Quotations

    Coordinate terms

    * black lung * potter's rot * miner cough

    Hypernyms

    * pneumoconiosis * silicosis

    Usage notes

    (Usage notes) * The Oxford English Dictionary lists pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis as “a factitious word alleged to mean ‘a lung disease caused by inhalation of very fine silica dust usually found in volcanos’ but occurring chiefly as an instance of a very long word”. * This word was invented purely to be a contender for the title of the longest word in the English language, comprising forty-five letters and nineteen syllables. The word is not in official medical usage, and textbooks refer to this disease as pneumonoconiosis, pneumoconiosis, or silicosis. ; Other contenders for the title of “the longest word in the English language” * hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia — 35 letters * supercalifragilisticexpialidocious — 34 letters * floccinaucinihilipilificatious — 30 letters * floccinaucinihilipilification — 29 letters * antidisestablishmentarianism — 28 letters

    References

    English words suffixed with -osis Long English words