Weird words

Sep 28, 2013 09:40

German is a language which is known for creating words by putting together other words, until the result can be quite long. English does something similar by using endings, prefixes, and suffixes. An example is antidisestablishmentarianism.

Establish is the root, a verb denoting an action.
Establishment is the noun form, for something that has been established.
Establishmentarian is a person who is in favor of an establishment: in the case of this word, the established Church of England.
Establishmentarianism is the noun for their belief.
Now we get to the prefixes:
Disestablishmentarianism is the noun for the belief that an established church should not exist.
And, finally, the persons opposed to disestablishmentarianism believe in its opposite, antidisestablishmentarianism.

Of course, German passes this easily. One example is Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän ("Danube Steamship Company Captain").
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