floccinaucinihilipilification
/ˌflɒksɪˌnɔːsɪˌnaɪhɪlɪˌpɪlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
noun
Origin
Latin
flocci, nauci, nihili, pili — a tuft of wool, a trifle, nothing, a hair
Overview
Meaning Now
- The action or habit of estimating something as worthless.
Literal older meaning
The act of making (something) into a 'flocci', 'nauci', 'nihili', and 'pili' (trifles).
Language path
Latin → English
Earliest form
floccinaucinihilipilification
Earliest period
18th century
Journey
The word was coined by students at Eton College as a humorous exercise in combining Latin words that all share the meaning of 'a trifle' or 'worthless thing', specifically following the rule in their Latin grammar books that these four nouns take the genitive of value.
Evolution
- Latin
flocci, nauci, nihili, pili
“words for worthless things”
Combinatory humorous formation in 18th-century English from four Latin synonyms meaning 'trifle'.
- 18th century English
floccinaucinihilipilification
“the act of regarding as worthless”
First recorded in a letter by William Shenstone in 1741.
Connections
Word parts
flocci
root
a tuft of wool/trifle
nauci
root
trifle
nihili
root
nothing
pili
root
a hair/trifle
fication
suffix
act of making
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.