Antidisestablishmentarianism originated in the context of the nineteenth century Church of England, where "antidisestablishmentarians" were opposed to proposals to remove the Church's status as the state church of England. The movement succeeded in England, but failed in Ireland and Wales, with the Church of Ireland being disestablished in 1871 and the Church of Wales in 1920. Antidisestablishmentarian members of the Free Church of Scotland delayed merger with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland in a dispute about the position of the Church of Scotland. The term has largely fallen into disuse, although the issue itself is still current (see Act of Settlement 1701).
The word antidisestablishmentarianism, with 28 letters, is the longest accepted word in the English language. There are other words, however, that are longer. For example: Supercalifragalisticexpialadocious is a nonsense word meaning fantastic. However, since it was taken from Mary Poppins, a fantasy novel for children, it is not as yet considered to be a real "word." The claim that "antidisestablishmentarianism" is the longest word in the English language is actually quite arguable, since antidisestablishmentarianism is used seriously in academic and ecclesiastical writing about the Church of England when the concept arises, which it does occasionally (See e.g. Hastings and "Some notes on the Church of England and Establishment", below). However, since 1992 it has lost this title to floccinaucinihilipilification in the Guinness Book of Records. (see also: Longest word in English)
If the word is taken literally, it could mean 'against the enemies of the establishment, but not necessarily aligned with the establishment'.
Antidisestablishmentarianism might still be the longest word not invented for the specific purpose of being a long word, however. (the word floccinaucinihilipilification may have been invented as a joke, and is an amalgamation of four Latin words). Presumably its creation invoked the irony of its length, and may have to do with the politics and commentary of the time period. Also, some criticise its validity on the basis that it has two prefixes ("anti-" and "dis"-) and three suffixes ("-ment", "-arian" and "-ism"), stating that it is not only possible to create a number of longer meaningful words by adding ever more prefixes, but that "antidisestablishmentarianism" is not a standalone word because of them. For example, theoretically "antiantidisestablishmentarianism" is a valid word, where it refers specifically to antidisestablishmentarians' opponents, rather than merely disestablishmentarians in general.
The word antidisestablishmentarianism, with 28 letters, is the longest accepted word in the English language. There are other words, however, that are longer. For example: Supercalifragalisticexpialadocious is a nonsense word meaning fantastic. However, since it was taken from Mary Poppins, a fantasy novel for children, it is not as yet considered to be a real "word." The claim that "antidisestablishmentarianism" is the longest word in the English language is actually quite arguable, since antidisestablishmentarianism is used seriously in academic and ecclesiastical writing about the Church of England when the concept arises, which it does occasionally (See e.g. Hastings and "Some notes on the Church of England and Establishment", below). However, since 1992 it has lost this title to floccinaucinihilipilification in the Guinness Book of Records. (see also: Longest word in English)
If the word is taken literally, it could mean 'against the enemies of the establishment, but not necessarily aligned with the establishment'.
Antidisestablishmentarianism might still be the longest word not invented for the specific purpose of being a long word, however. (the word floccinaucinihilipilification may have been invented as a joke, and is an amalgamation of four Latin words). Presumably its creation invoked the irony of its length, and may have to do with the politics and commentary of the time period. Also, some criticise its validity on the basis that it has two prefixes ("anti-" and "dis"-) and three suffixes ("-ment", "-arian" and "-ism"), stating that it is not only possible to create a number of longer meaningful words by adding ever more prefixes, but that "antidisestablishmentarianism" is not a standalone word because of them. For example, theoretically "antiantidisestablishmentarianism" is a valid word, where it refers specifically to antidisestablishmentarians' opponents, rather than merely disestablishmentarians in general.
Real-world example
If you take terrorism to be against the establishment, and thus disestablishmentarian, then those who oppose terrorism (but don't necessarily support the target of terrorism) could be said to be displaying antidisestablishmentarionism.
In Popular Fiction
In the Honeymooners episode, The $99,000 Answer, Alice asks Ralph to spell the word. Ralph says he'll spell it if she gives him $16,000 for spelling it. She tells him she'll give him twice the amount if he can say it.
In the Blackadder the Third episode, Dish and Dishonesty, the title character tells Prince George that he shall return 'before you can say antidisestablishmentarianism'. The Prince makes many attempts at saying it, eventually reducing to the level of saying anti-distinctly-minty, by which time Blackadder has returned two days later.
In Aqua Teen Hunger Force The Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas from the Future makes the statement that tacos do not exist in the future, stating, "I think we all know why. Anti taco legislation! Disestablishmentarianism!"
If you take terrorism to be against the establishment, and thus disestablishmentarian, then those who oppose terrorism (but don't necessarily support the target of terrorism) could be said to be displaying antidisestablishmentarionism.
In Popular Fiction
In the Honeymooners episode, The $99,000 Answer, Alice asks Ralph to spell the word. Ralph says he'll spell it if she gives him $16,000 for spelling it. She tells him she'll give him twice the amount if he can say it.
In the Blackadder the Third episode, Dish and Dishonesty, the title character tells Prince George that he shall return 'before you can say antidisestablishmentarianism'. The Prince makes many attempts at saying it, eventually reducing to the level of saying anti-distinctly-minty, by which time Blackadder has returned two days later.
In Aqua Teen Hunger Force The Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas from the Future makes the statement that tacos do not exist in the future, stating, "I think we all know why. Anti taco legislation! Disestablishmentarianism!"
by Josh Schooley (Taken from Wikipedia) September 15, 2008
Get the antidisestablishmentarionism mug.in a antidistestblishmentarian manner; Being opposed to the belief that there should no longer be an official church a the country. The word is sometimes quoted as the longest word in the English language. There is a town in Wales with a larger number of letters, but it is a place name, not a word.
Let's get one thing straight: while antidisestablishmentarianismistically is a real word, that has been really used with real meaning, it is mainly known for being an extremely long word.
by nick daddario October 15, 2006
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One who is a bigot towards dentists. Taken from an episode of Seinfeld in which jerry is accused for being against dentists.
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Fire-Fly Girl: Is that your work on the wall?
Rolls: Sure is.
Fire-Fly Girl: Now, that is some bad ass antidesign!!
Rolls: Sure is.
Fire-Fly Girl: Now, that is some bad ass antidesign!!
by antidesign March 8, 2008
Get the antidesign mug.Synonyms would be: Awesome, crazy, insane, cool, undependable, mad, talented, entertaining, mast, zabardast, superb, world champion...
Nickname is BOOM BOOM due to his flamboyant hitting of sixes & fours.
Fabulous cricketer who has led Pakistan to win the 2009 World Cup. Broken truckloads of records throughout his career. Extremely fun to watch.
His dad's the Pathan ruler of a certain tribe, and that makes Afridi a real life "prince" or "sahibzada."
He has stated that his favourite cricketers are Sachin Tendulkar and Imran Khan.
You can't really get the essence of this guy without watching him play. He's friggin awesome, and anyone would agree.
A massive hitter, often UNBELIEVABLE,
yet very very unreliable {you never know what he'll do}, religious ("All thanks is going to my Almighty God!" is a frequent statement of his. I've heard him say it whenever he gets any kind of award),
crazy, cool, and has OFTEN stated in interviews that, whether he plays amazingly or terribly, he can't control himself on the field.
Also known for striking fear into the hearts of Indians, toying with his fans' hearts by getting out very fast sometimes,
blowing a kiss to Jacques Kallis to piss him off,
biting a cricket ball,
dancing on the pitch, hitting the first 12 off 1 ball in the history of cricket, his amazing fielding, bowling, and batting, being in a number of Pepsi commercials, being handsome, etc.
Nickname is BOOM BOOM due to his flamboyant hitting of sixes & fours.
Fabulous cricketer who has led Pakistan to win the 2009 World Cup. Broken truckloads of records throughout his career. Extremely fun to watch.
His dad's the Pathan ruler of a certain tribe, and that makes Afridi a real life "prince" or "sahibzada."
He has stated that his favourite cricketers are Sachin Tendulkar and Imran Khan.
You can't really get the essence of this guy without watching him play. He's friggin awesome, and anyone would agree.
A massive hitter, often UNBELIEVABLE,
yet very very unreliable {you never know what he'll do}, religious ("All thanks is going to my Almighty God!" is a frequent statement of his. I've heard him say it whenever he gets any kind of award),
crazy, cool, and has OFTEN stated in interviews that, whether he plays amazingly or terribly, he can't control himself on the field.
Also known for striking fear into the hearts of Indians, toying with his fans' hearts by getting out very fast sometimes,
blowing a kiss to Jacques Kallis to piss him off,
biting a cricket ball,
dancing on the pitch, hitting the first 12 off 1 ball in the history of cricket, his amazing fielding, bowling, and batting, being in a number of Pepsi commercials, being handsome, etc.
"Boom Boom Afridi, king of sixes."
"Brilliant bowling performance by Shahid Afridi!"
"Cricket wouldn't be the same without Shahid Afridi." -Kevin Pietersen said this
"SHAHID AFRIDI has a great smile, but no brains." -Ramiz Raja
"Yaar, bara mast cricketer hai yeh Shahid Afridi." -What everyone thinks
"Shahid Afridi...aka...SUB KA BAAP!!!"
"Shahid Afridi...is he...is he...is that...is he BITING THE BALL?!!" -Everyone who saw that match...hehe
"i WANNA BE LIKE SHAHID AFRIDI WHEN I GROW UP" -Many little Pakistani kids
"Shahid Afridi you idiot! Why'd you do that????"
"Don't yell at the TV, he's crazy, it's not like he can control it."
"Oh...right."
"Shahid Afridi sucks some days, but he makes up for it when he rocks, because nobody can rock it like Afridi" -THE TRUTH
"Brilliant bowling performance by Shahid Afridi!"
"Cricket wouldn't be the same without Shahid Afridi." -Kevin Pietersen said this
"SHAHID AFRIDI has a great smile, but no brains." -Ramiz Raja
"Yaar, bara mast cricketer hai yeh Shahid Afridi." -What everyone thinks
"Shahid Afridi...aka...SUB KA BAAP!!!"
"Shahid Afridi...is he...is he...is that...is he BITING THE BALL?!!" -Everyone who saw that match...hehe
"i WANNA BE LIKE SHAHID AFRIDI WHEN I GROW UP" -Many little Pakistani kids
"Shahid Afridi you idiot! Why'd you do that????"
"Don't yell at the TV, he's crazy, it's not like he can control it."
"Oh...right."
"Shahid Afridi sucks some days, but he makes up for it when he rocks, because nobody can rock it like Afridi" -THE TRUTH
by Viva_la_vidaaa March 6, 2010
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