floccinaucinihilipilification

[ flok-suh-naw-suh-nahy-hil-uh-pil-uh-fi-key-shuhn ]

noun

1. Rare. the estimation of something as valueless (encountered mainly as an example of one of the longest words in the English language).

Word History and Origins

Origin of floccinaucinihilipilification¹

1735–45; < Latin floccī + naucī + nihilī + pilī all meaning “of little or no value, trifling” + -fication

More About Floccinaucinihilipilification

What does floccinaucinihilipilification mean?

Floccinaucinihilipilification is the act of considering something to be worthless, as in I was outraged by the pawn shop owner’s floccinaucinihilipilification of my prized toothpick collection.

At 29 letters long, floccinaucinihilipilification is quite the mouthful and is a very rarely used word. If it is mentioned at all, it is almost always in the context of very long English words. In this sense, floccinaucinihilipilification is considered an oddity alongside other rarely used long words, such as antidisestablishmentarianism and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (of Mary Poppins fame). For fans of sesquipedalianism (using long words), you can find more big words in our article “The Longest Words In The English Language.”

Example: Don’t be surprised by people’s floccinaucinihilipilification of your ability to correctly use long words.

Where does floccinaucinihilipilification come from?

The first records of floccinaucinihilipilification come from around 1735. It combines the Latin words floccī, naucī, nihilī, and pilī, which all mean “of little or no value,” and the combining form -fication, which indicates an action.

Because all of the Latin root words mean “trifling,” you might use floccinaucinihilipilification to refer to the word itself as this giant word goes out of its way to be unnecessarily long for no reason.

Did you know ... ?

What are some words that share a root or word element with floccinaucinihilipilification? 

• annihilate

What are some words that often get used in discussing floccinaucinihilipilification?

• long
• length
• word
• sesquipedalianism

How is floccinaucinihilipilification used in real life?

Floccinaucinihilipilification is sometimes used by people intentionally looking for a long word but is more often used to point out how long of a word it is.

If those who dislike tweeting are pursuing floccinaucinihilipilification, is it because they don't have enough characters to complete a se..

— Carol Vorderman 💙 (@carolvorders) September 25, 2010

I always thought
antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters) was the longest word in the dictionary, but it’s holding the beer of
floccinaucinihilipilification (29).

— Sam Farmer (@LATimesfarmer) September 22, 2019

Floccinaucinihilipilification- easier done than said

— Jon Culshaw (@jonculshaw) August 29, 2011

Try using floccinaucinihilipilification!

True or False?

If you have a tendency toward floccinaucinihilipilification, you often think things are very valuable.