Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

[snopes]

Comment: Is hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia really "the fear of long
words"?

[qualli]

No.

[Avril]

I vote hoax. Consider the wiki on it. It includes this:

2002 - Those who find this column troubling are suffering from hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia [sic] - the fear of long words. Or, more likely, rupophobia - a fear of rubbish. - Chris Lloyd in The Northern Echo (December 14, 2002) page 10

Hippopotamus is from the Greek meaning "river horse." If there truly was a scientific term for a phobia of long words, you'd think they'd avoid convoluting it with river horses.

Avril

[ganzfeld]

Can we at least have a warning at the beginning of the thread title, you know, something like "(Not safe for Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobiacs)". Just to be on the safe side, in case it isn't a hoax?

[Eve MG]

The Phobia List has it, and his references are stated as:

All the phobia names on this list have been found in some reference book.

Well, then, that's good enough for me!

I did always think that was pretty cruel to make the fear of long words such a long word.

ETA: There is a Wiktionary page about it.

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 "fear of long words" is certainly worth considering.

[jespur62]

you been watching the spelling bee again?

[Blatherskite]

I have a feeling that it's a semi-joke word in the sense that it can be the name of the fear of long words, but it's contrived to be stupidly long.

ETA: whoops, I've just read Eve MG's reply. Sorry, Eve MG.

[Seraphina]

True according to Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English
Main Entry: hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
Part of Speech: n
Definition: fear of long words

[Richard W]

Just "sesquipedaliophobia" would work, as "sesquipedalian" refers to long words. I don't see why you'd need to stick a prefix about monstrous river-horses to the front except as a joke. And where does that extra "p" come from?

[Richard W]

Tch. My brother says that "sesquipedaliophopia" is chimeric, mixing Latin and Greek roots, and that's unacceptable. He suggests "perisologophobia" or "periphrastophobia". He also reckons that "perisologophobia" is more exact than "sesquiedaliophobia" since it refers to a single word, whereas sesquipedalianism can also refer to phrases.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Richard W

Tch. My brother says that "sesquipedaliophopia" is chimeric, mixing Latin and Greek roots, and that's unacceptable.

Does he say the same about homosexual? Television? Grammarian? Remacadamized? Complaining about mixing linguistic roots in a word is something like complaining about mixing elements in a chemical--I mean, have fun doing so, I'm just not quite sure what the complaint is.

The "word" is a word contrived to be ironic, such as "aibohphobia", "the fear of pallindromes", when it in itself is one.

NOT TO MENTION, the word is nonsensical in greek.

I may not fear that word, but I do indeed have a fear of antidisestablishmentarianism.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

The American Taliban is alive and well, and they want to have their way...

[trlkly]

I don't see any thing wrong with "hippopoto-". Who says all of the prefixes have to come from another language. We already use "auto-" to refer to cars and "homo-" to refer to homosexuals.

Of course, as others have said, this word would have to be coined purely for it's length. But "monstrosesquipedaliophobia" is long enough without the prefix, so one wonders why the "hippopoto-" prefix is necessary.

[Stoneage Dinosaur]

It is the fear that dare not speak its name. It is hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.

Those afflicted are afraid of very long words, yet even as they attempt to lead normal lives, avoiding medical dictionaries and high-scoring Scrabble players, the very term that defines their condition hangs over their heads, terrifyingly polysyllabic.

Their irrational fear and the word that defines it has been catalogued by readers of New Scientist among a list of the most curious phobias to trouble modern man, as advertised by counselling companies promising a cure.

Look away now if you suffer from hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

[Silas Sparkhammer]

I'd say it's obviously a contrived neologism -- like Master Jaken's "aibohphobia" (I'd never heard that one before: thank you! I like it!) -- and it obviously has no real linguistic value. But it is cute. One might as easily have coined godzillasesquippedaliophobia. (Or, for the real purist, gojirasesquippedaliophobia.)

It also reminds me of the prefixes in the SI: mega, tera, giga, and so on. tera means "monstrous," and giga means "giant." (In Greek and Latin, respectively, so these terms also lack any linguistic coherence!)

Silas