What is the longest known palindrome? Anyone out there have any info?
Single word? I think it is saippuakauppias (Finnish for a soap seller).
Here’s one I tossed together:
Thank you… Thank you!
No - I’m just kidding. I didn’t write that monster. I don’t even think that it is that interesting as an exercise - It makes no sense.
Anyway, I did a googlesearch on “long palindrome” and found this one at Gordon Dow’s Palindrome Page.
And here’s a long one with more than word:
According to Guiness, the longest word is the Finnish word mentioned above.
The longest word found in OED is “tattarrattat,” but I don’t have the definition handy.
The Finnish word above, while being a legitimate word is probably a contrived word in Finnish, and isn’t likely something that the average Finn would–just a WAG.
Possibly contrived, Mollnir, I don’t know. From personal experience, I do know that my mom, a typical Finn, knew that word. They have a real propensity for combining words and ending up with some that are ridiculously long (and hard to pronounce). I suspect it may be more archaic than contrived (probably not many soapsellers left in Finland).
(I also know that my parents never bothered to teach us kids any Finn - some secret language thing, I suspect. Damn. Or maybe I should say saatana. )
Longest single word I’ve ever heard of in a palindromatic sentence: undenominationally.
(background: the speaker was being accused by Ned, a friend, of sunbathing nude to irritate his wife, Beryl).
“Named undenominationally rebel, I rile Beryl? La, no! I tan. I’m, O Ned, nude, man!”
Wish I could find the book that it’s from, so I can cite it correctly; as is, I only remember the palindrome itself.
Hmmm, in re-reading this thread, I just realized I might be agreeing with you. I’m not sure I understand the use of “contrived.” Is that to mean combined? If so, then I completely agree.
My befuddlement is the obvious result of having tested out of English in college when I should have taken the courses. sigh I think I’ll stick with bird questions.
“Contrived,” as it relates to words means (to me, anyway) making up words, but by following the rules.
So, you can end up with some ridiculous words.
Here’s one for example, that I got from a book (“Words,” by Paul Dickson (Dixon?)), the records for double letters:
Balloonnoonnookeeppoobah
The definition is “someone how earns his keep by selling balloons in his nook at noon.”
Or the “flocci. . .” word that is too long for me to try to spell. It was made up from a combination of Latin words meaning “small,” with the purported meaning of “the action of estimating as worthless.”
Right.
I’m leaning toward archaic and here’s why:
I was too curious about this so I called Mom. She’s 82 and grew up in a small village in Finland. I asked her about the use of this word and after thinking about it for a bit, she thought it was a word that had usage. She remembers her mother making laundry soap. In the fall, Grandma would fill a large cast iron kettle in the sauna with water, the intestines from a pig and some lye and then cook the whole mess up. She’d then pour the icky gray stuff into molds and after it hardened, cut them loose. Mom would have to use the bars to wash the laundry (and she vividly remembers a one-legged crow stealing her soap, ha!). The local stores had a very small selection of things to sell, and many people made their own items, some of which would be sold to those who could not make them – i.e., town dwellers. Given that they had open–air markets…
So, okay Mom, do you specifically remember any soapsellers? “No, but we never had to buy any – we made it.”
D’oh!
Okay, so I still don’t know. But at least I had a wonderful conversation with Mom and learned a little more about her life. Thanks!
Mjollnir writes
Well, it’s a Joycean coinage, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
Here is what I consider to be by far the best web page on palindromic words. Note: I am not prejudiced about this page and any resemblance between the contributor mentioned in the first paragraph in italics and my user name is purely coincidental.
If you want the longest non-coined palindromic word in English, it’s a tie between detartrated and kinnikinnik. See above page for definitions.
It also has some longer Finnish examples and one longer Swedish example, although all seem likely to be coinages.
IMHO, the longest sensical palindrome is the beautiful:
(and I’m sure y’all have seen it before)
“A man, a plan, a canal – Panama!”
It’s logical, it doesn’t used weird words like “haj” and it makes complete sense. I have yet to see a longer palindrome with the genius and beauty of this one.
I rather like: “Star comedy by democrats”
As it happens, it’s the same length as Pulykamell’s example.
I don’t remember where it was from, or who it was by, but it’s always stuck in my mind…
Years ago, in a science magazine that has probably long fallen by the wayside, I remember reading about a book-length palindrome called Dr. Awkward and Olson in Oslo. There’s a brief bit about it here, which says it’s 31,957 words long. Granted it probably has a buttload of contrived and recondite words, but you gotta give props to someone who’d actually sit down and take the time to do something like this.
Flossipaucinihilpillification
Considering being low on dental floss as insignificant.