Floccinaucinihilipilification
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ËŒflÉ’ksɪˌnÉ’sɪˌnɪhɪlɪˌpɪlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/, /ËŒflÉ’ksɪˌnÉ”Ësɪˌnaɪɪlɪˌpɪlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
Origin
A jocular coinage, apparently by pupils at Eton College, combining a number of roughly synonymous Latin stems. The word was inspired by a line in the Eton Latin Grammar that listed verbs that govern a genitive noun: "Flocci, nauci, nihili, pili, assis, hujus, teruncii, his verbis, aestimo, pendo, facio, peculiariter adduntur."
The Spectator: 11 June 2011
Latin flocci, from floccus, a wisp or piece of wool + nauci, from naucum, a trifle + nihili, from the Latin pronoun, nihil ("nothing") + pili, from pilus, a hair, something insignificant (all therefore having the sense of "pettiness" or "nothing") + -fication.
Full definition of floccinaucinihilipilification
Noun
floccinaucinihilipilification
(uncountable)- (often humorous) The act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant, of having no value or being worthless.
- 1741: William Shenstone, Letters,I loved him for nothing so much as his flocci-nauci-nihili-pili-fication of money.
- 1970: Patrick O'Brian, Master and Commander,There is a systematic flocci-nauci-nihili-pilification of all other aspects of existence that angers me.
- 2000: Raymond J. Chambers, Logic, Law, and Ethicshttp://books.google.com/books?id=Ei03tgPKEKcC&lpg=PA28&dq=floccinaucinihilipilification&pg=PA28#v=onepage&q=floccinaucinihilipilification&f=false:Floccinaucinihilipilification in accounting - does it matter?
- 2006: Sol Steinmetz, The life of languagehttp://books.google.com/books?id=raN6AAAAIAAJ&q=floccinaucinihilipilification&dq=floccinaucinihilipilification&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dS8BU4bIMcTWyQHf94GwDw&ved=0CKsBEOgBMBc4PA,They must be taken with an air of contempt, a floccinaucinihilipilification of all that can gratify the outward man.
- 2009: Judith Orloff, Emotional Freedomhttp://books.google.com/books?id=_V53VntvlmQC&lpg=PA312&dq=floccinaucinihilipilification&pg=PA312#v=onepage&q=floccinaucinihilipilification&f=false:Some people with low self-esteem are prone to floccinaucinihilipilification, the habit of deeming everything worthless.
- 2011: Bruce Ratner, Statistical and Machine-Learning Data Mininghttp://books.google.com/books?id=I3KZCfmhWJwC&lpg=PT42&dq=floccinaucinihilipilification&pg=PT42#v=onepage&q=floccinaucinihilipilification&f=false:The quasi statistician would doubtlessly not know how to check this supposition, thus rendering the interpretation of the mean profit as floccinaucinihilipilification.
Usage notes
Often cited as the longest non-technical word in the English language, being one letter longer than the commonly cited antidisestablishmentarianism. In the debate on the remuneration of EU staff, Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg used the word on 21st February 2012 making it the longest word ever used in the British House of Commons.