When the beloved character Mary Poppins enunciates, "supercalifragilisticexpialidocisious" then goes into full song and dance about this 34-letter word, how could anyone feel anything but extraordinarily good. Mary Poppins described it as the word to use "when you have nothing to say," but since the movie Mary Poppins debuted in 1964, this silly word has been a source of plentiful conversation.
While supercalifragilisticexpialidocisious is usually associated with Mary Poppins, The Oxford English Dictionary estimates that the word was introduced in the 1940s and is basically "used as a nonsense word by children to express approval." While it is not the longest word in the English language, the self-described "practically perfect" Mary Poppins could sit back and be proud — of what Shakespeare would call — the "honorificabilitudinitatibus" of rallying a culture to appreciate long words.
The 27-letter honorificabilitudinitatibus — which means the state of being able to achieve honors — is the longest word used by Shakespeare and can be found in his comedy, Love Labour's Lost when Costard says (Act V, Scene I): "O, they have lived long on the alms-basket of words, I marvel thy master hath not eaten thee for a word; for thou art not so long by the head as honorificabilitudinitatibus: thou art easier swallowed than a flap-dragon."
While honorificabilitudinitatibus is not as popular in today's culture as the fun-filled supercalifragilisticexpialidocisious, I'd say it could easily fit into Mary Poppin's song:
Honorificabilitudinitatibus
Even though the sound of it
Is something quite atrocious
If you say it loud enough
You'll always sound precocious
Honorificabilitudinitatibus!
Um-dittle-ittl-um-dittle-I
Um-dittle-ittl-um-dittle-I
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