Curiosities

Interesting facts about English

The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."

"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".

No word in English language rhymes with "month," "silver," "purple," or "orange."

The word "set" has more definitions than any other word in English.

"Underground" is the only word in English that begins and ends with the letters "und."

There are only four words in the English language which end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

The only other word with the same amount of letters is its plural: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses.

The longest place-name still in use is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwe-nuakit natahu, the Maori name of a hill in New Zealand.

Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size, L.A.

The verb "cleave" has definitions which are antonyms of each other: to adhere and to separate.

The verb "sanction" also has definitions which are antonyms: to sponsor and to ban.

There is a seven-letter word in English that contains eleven words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, I, therein, herein.

'Stewardesses' is the longest English word that is typed with only the left hand.

The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways; the following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable."

"Facetious" and "abstemious" contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious, meaning "containing arsenic."

The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king is dead."

Only three words have entered English from Czech: polka, pilsner, and robot.