What Three-Letter Word Has Over 400 Meanings?

Big Word Day takes place on April 21 every year. Big Word Day is all about words, specifically coming up with new large words to keep the English language alive and well. Every language on the planet has a lexicon made up of words.

Through speech, people have created and polished words over time. We tend to use short words when communicating, so we can convey more meaning with fewer words. Big Word Day is exactly what the world needs.

• 1220 – An Englishman named John of Garland coins the term ‘dictionary.’
• 1582 – Richard Mulcaster publishes a non-alphabetical compilation of words and calls it “The Elementarie.”
• 1755 – Samuel Johnson develops a more reliable English dictionary.
• 1775 – “Johnson’s Dictionary,” first published in 1775, is highly regarded by lexicographers today.
• 1807 – Noah Webster began compiling an American Dictionary of the English Language, which he completed during his year abroad in Paris, France, and at the University of Cambridge in 1825.
• 1828 – Noah Webster publishes his dictionary in 1828 at the age of 70.
• 1884 – “Johnson’s dictionary” was the English-language standard for over 150 years, until 1884, when the Oxford University Press began developing and publishing the “Oxford English Dictionary” in short fascicles.
• 1928 – The “Oxford English Dictionary” is published in twelve volumes by Oxford University Press.
• The folks over at the Oxford English Dictionary estimate that the English language has approximately 170,000 in current use and another more than 40,000 that are archaic and out of use.
• Eunoia is the smallest word in the English language that contains all five primary vowels, with only six characters.
•  Most native speakers know about 20,000 to 35,000 words, but still only use maybe 5,000 – 10,0000 on a daily basis.
• ‘Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is the 30-letter word.
• What word takes 3.5 hours to pronounce? It begins, “Methionyl​threonyl​threonyl​glutaminyl​alanyl​prolyl​threonyl​phenyl​alanyl​threonyl​glutaminyl​prolyl​leucyl​glutaminyl​seryl​valyl​valyl​valyl​leucyl​glutamyl​glycyl​seryl​threonyl​alanyl​threonyl​phenyl​alanyl​glutamyl​alanyl​histidyl​isoleucyl​seryl​glycyl​phenyl​alanyl​prolyl​valyl​prolyl​glutamyl​valyl​seryl​tryptophyl​phenyl​alanyl​arginyl​aspartyl​glycyl​glutaminyl​valyl​isoleucyl​seryl​threonyl​seryl​threonyl​leucyl​pro” and goes on for tens of thousands of letters. (You can read the whole thing yourself here and hear it pronounced here.)
• In the English language, hydroxyzine is only one word containing the letters ‘x,’ ‘y,’ and ‘z’ in that order.
• The term ‘bankrupt’ is derived from the Italian word for ‘broken bench.’
• Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis: Probably the longest word in the English language (not counting technical words) at a whopping 45 letters, this word is a medical term to describe a lung disease that comes from inhaling particles from a volcano.
• Floccinaucinihilipilification: Another very long word, with 29 letters, means the estimation of something that has no value. Of course, because it is so long, this word hardly ever gets used.
• Antidisestablishmentarianism: Up next at 28 letters is this word that was originally coined in relation to the Church of England but is now used regarding those who opposed the removal of government support for a religious expression or church.
• Incomprehensibilities: Though not quite the next longest, this one is important because it is one of the longest words in common use in the English language. Its definition means something that is impossible to understand, or imagine.
• ‘Crwth’ and ‘cwtch’ are the longest words with no vowels.
• There’s a word for all things breakfast. Pancakes, cornflakes, coffee, orange juice—they are all “jentacular,” or “pertaining to breakfast.”
• Songs with big words:
  • Spider Fingers by Bruce Hornsby (1986). This song uses the word “prestidigitation” which means sleight of hand or conjuring.
  • Famous Groupies by Paul McCartney (1978). This one from a former Beatle offers a number of interesting words including “pulchritude”, “proscenium” and “perambulations”.
  • Verisimilitude by Teenage Fanclub (1995). The title of this song offers a glimpse into a big word that means being real or true.
• Anagrams:
  • “Schoolmaster” is an anagram of “the classroom.”
  • Western Union = No Wire Unsent
  • Clint Eastwood = Old West Action
  • Astronomers = Moon starers
• The word “pandemonium” was coined as the name of hell’s capital. In his epic poem Paradise Lost, John Milton invented the word “Pandemonium” as the name of the capital of the underworld. Stemming from the Greek words for “all” and “little spirit/demon,” the term roughly translates to something like “place for all demons.” When we use the word today, it usually refers to a kind of chaos, but Milton invented the word to describe a truly unpleasant-sounding place.
• There are two 15-letter words that don’t repeat any letters.  they are “uncopyrightable”—something that cannot be copyrighted—and “dermatoglyphics”—the study of skin markings.
• The English word with the most meanings is “set.” According to Guinness World Records, this verb—and sometimes noun—has the most meanings of any English word, with 430 listed in the Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. It also has the longest dictionary entry at 60,000 words!
• Samuel Johnson’s definition of  “lunch” had nothing to do with the time of day, but the amount of food eaten—specifically, “as much food as one’s hand can hold.”
• “Tl;dr” is an official word in the dictionary. Merriam-Webster added this acronym for “too long; didn’t read” to its dictionary in 2018.

Sources:

Days of the Year

National Today

Best Life