The Greek language has been spoken uninterruptedly from ancient times until today (with obvious changes over the years), which has led to the existence of thousands of words.
The wealth of the Greek language is very great and well known. However, what has not yet been recorded is the longest word in the number of characters.
The word found in "Ekklesiazouses" by Aristophanes (verses 1169-1175) will be difficult even for the greatest enthusiast of the ancient Greek language and reads as follows:
Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon
It is a transliteration of the Ancient Greek word:
“λοπαδοτεμαχοσελαχογαλεοκρανιολειψανοδριμυποτριμματοσιλφιοκαραβομελιτοκατακεχυμενοκιχλεπικοσσυφοφαττοπεριστεραλεκτρυονοπτοκεφαλλιοκιγκλοπελειολαγῳοσιραιοβαφητραγανοπτερύγων”
λοπάς (dish, meal)
τέμαχος (fish slice)
σέλαχος (shark, ray)
γαλεός (tope, dogfish, small shark)
κρανίον (head)
λείψανον (remnant")
δριμύς (sharp, pungent")
ὑπότριμμα (gen. sharp-tasting dish of several ingredients grated & pounded together)
σίλφιον (laserwort)
κάραβος (crab, beetle, or crayfish)
μέλι (honey)
κατακεχυμένος (poured down)
κίχλη (wrasse, thrush)
ἐπί (upon, on top of)
κόσσυφος (a kind of sea-fish or blackbird)
φάττα (wood pigeon)
περιστερός (domestic pigeon)
ἀλεκτρυών (chicken)
ὀπτός (roasted, baked)
κεφάλιον (diminutive of "head")
κίγκλος (dabchick)
πέλεια (pigeon)
λαγῷος (hare)
σίραιον (new wine boiled down)
βαφή (dipping)
τραγανός (crunchy)
πτέρυξ (wing, fin)
The word of Aristophanes appears only once in all Greek literature and consists of 78 syllables, 172 letters and 27 synthetics, while its metaphor in Latin consists of 182, and for centuries it was one of the biggest known words in literature according to the 1990 Guinness Book of World Records.
Longest word in the world (spoken in ancient greek pronunciation)