Floccinaucinihilipilification

Pronunciation

noun |FLOK-si-NO-si-NY-HIL-i-PIL-i-fi-KAY-shuhn /ˌfläksəˌnôsəˌnīˌhiləˌpiləfiˈkāSHən/

Definition

Estimating something as worthless.

Etymology

Mid 18th century: from Latin flocci, nauci, nihili, pili (words meaning ‘at little value’) + -fication. The Latin elements were listed in a well-known rule of the Latin Grammar used at Eton College, an English public school.

Your Latin Lesson: 
flocci, from floccus (tuft of wool) +
nauci, from naucum (a trifling thing) +
nihili, from Latin nihil (nothing) +
pili, from pilus (a hair, trifle) +
–fication (making).

Did You Know?

It was the longest word in the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, but pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis beat it out in the second edition.