The story
- Proto-Indo-European*plew-
- Proto-Indo-European*pléwmō
- Ancient Greekπλεύμων (pleúmōn)
- Ancient Greekπνέω (pnéō)influ.
- Ancient Greekπνεῦμα (pneûma)influ.
- Ancient Greekπνεύμων (pneúmōn)
- GermanPneumono-
- Proto-Indo-European*ken-
- Ancient Greekκόνις (kónis)
- GermanPneumonokoniosis
- Englishpneumonoconiosis
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Latinūls
- Latinultrā
- Englishultra-
- Proto-Indo-European*mey-der.?
- Ancient Greekμῑκρός (mīkrós)
- Proto-Indo-European*speḱ-
- Proto-Indo-European*spéḱyeti
- Proto-Hellenic*sképt͏̌omai
- Ancient Greekσκέπτομαι (sképtomai)
- Ancient Greekσκοπός (skopós)
- Ancient Greekσκοπέω (skopéō)
- Latinmīcroscopium
- Italianmicroscopio
- Englishmicroscope
- Englishmicroscopic
- Englishultramicroscopic
- Latinsilex
- New Latinsilicium
- Englishsilicium
- Proto-Indo-European*kerh₃-der.?
- Latincarbōnem
- Frenchcarbone
- Englishcarbonbf.
- Englishsilicon
- Englishsilico-
- LatinVulcānu
- ItalianVulcano
- Italianvulcano
- Englishvolcano
- English todaypneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Coined by American puzzle designer and newspaper editor Everett Smith, President of the National Puzzlers' League, at their convention in 1935 as a deliberately long word. An extension of the medical term pneumonoconiosis (by surface analysis, pneumono- (“lung”) + coniosis (“disease caused by the inhalation of dust”)) with ultramicroscopic + silico- + volcano inserted between the two elements.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.