I agree with tinyE...Telila is going to hard to beat.

Here's one...Fallaciloquence = deceitful speech.
I used to use that one when I thought someone was lying.

Bustacombiculus.

I like the word "sesquipedalian" because it is simultaneously magniloquent and autological.

That is cool. So in French, when you are uninstalling Windows, you say you are defenestrating your computer? :p

You mean, it exhibits autoreferentiality. ;)

Seriously, 'sesquipedalian' is one of my favorite words as well. It literally means 'a foot and a half long', but the implication is that it's longer and/or more complex than was necessary or called for. Kind of like a foot and a half hot dog on a footlong bun.

Another favorite is 'perspicacious' (and its noun form, 'perspicacity'). It means that someone is perceptive or was paying attention. But I tend to use it in one of two ways: sarcastically, to mean "Thank you, Captain Obvious," or straight up to someone who doesn't know what it means, leaving them unsure whether they've just been lauded or dissed.

Yeah, I'm that guy.

Normative. It seems to be used exclusively in educational circles (from my experience). It has the exact same definition as "normal." Now, sometimes I use it.

When I might say normal: "It's normal for kids to disobey."
When I might say normative: "It's normative behavior when our children exhibit disobedience."

This made me laugh out loud. But yeah, that's the most popular procedure.

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis


edit - considered copypasting this word, but found out that it was a little bit over the limit allowed by gOg...

http://www.sarahmcculloch.com/luminary-uprise/2009/longest-word/ , also known as Titin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx0kMizIioI

You know, from a spanish language point of view (where words have distinction between male and female) that word has a strong female characteristic :P and I wonder why didn´t they invented one called "circumbilipenisation" (to move in a forwards/backwards motion).

+1 because I this is really a great thread! I like your style, very much!

Vicissitude = more ebb and flow of destiny, really, or the hand of Providence - would you just have God trow a dice?

Defenestrate = I do think this is (or should be) about Czech patriots trowing an overlord down to a moat from a castle. And how would you describe it in other words, plus what shall the appropriate situations?

If you do not enjoy language, why do you post here anyhow?

This I think is a pleasure thread, not a frumpy one.

Defenestration, I do not it should exist without the specific ref to Prague - so to my mind it is not a literal meaning, but rather one referring to throwing out usurping powers.

"Usurping" - what say you?

Edit: grammar.

In other words?

I wasn't picking on OP for starting the thread, but giving reasons for why words which seem unnecessarily complicated to us might have good reasons for existing the way that they do; the OP said, "there are words out there that are really complicated for no obvious reason", hence my post.

The more we read, the more we might understand why certain words exist. That's all, really :]

Yet now this Disney brain-child has, I do believe, entered the dictionary as "purportedly" longest word in English.

Such as "mithril" shall be understood at Tolkien universe as the strongest material.

Callipygian pulchritude is that magical beauty inherent in well shaped buttocks. I make sure to compliment any who achieve such lofty standards.