What does "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" mean?

Answer 1

The word is actually Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. The longest word in the English language, it refers to a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine particles of volcanic ash.

Answer 2

(The entire word will not display in either the question box or answer unless a hyphen is used.)

It is a lung disease, similar to 'black lung' usually acquired by miners. It is caused by extremely microscopic silica getting into the lungs. Literally the word means: 'a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust usually found in volcanoes'.

The term (more simply called pneumoconiosis, related to silicosis) is

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilico-volcanoconiosis (no hyphen)

and was created in 1935 to be 'the world's longest English word".

Answer 3

It is a "created word" for a condition known medically just as "silicosis" (without specifying the source of the mineral in the lungs). The word was made up at the 1935 National Puzzlers' League meeting, after which members of the group lobbied to have it included in dictionaries. The OED defines it as "factitious" (bogus).