Language Trivia

Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff

"Euouae," a medieval music term, is the longest word in English that contains only vowels. It’s also the word with the most consecutive vowels.

"Screeched," which means to make a harsh sound, is the longest one-syllable word in English.

"Unprosperousness", meaning not wealthy or profitable, is the longest word in English in which each letter is used at least two times.

The words "facetiously," "abstemiously," and "arseniously," each contain all six vowels (including “y”) in alphabetical order. The word "duoliteral" contains all five vowels (not including “y”) in reverse alphabetical order.

At 45 letters, "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis," which refers to a lung disease, is often considered the longest word in English.

"Feedback" is the shortest word in English that has the letters a, b, c, d, e, and f.

"Floccinaucinihilipilification," is the longest word in English that does not contain letter “e”

No words in English rhyme with: "month," "orange," "silver," or "purple."

“Q” is the only letter that does not occur in any of the U.S. state names.

"Maine" is the only U.S. state whose name is just one syllable.

"Bookkeeper" is the only English word that has three consecutive double letters.

The word “therein” contains only seven letters, but it contains 10 words that can be formed using consecutive letters: the, there, I, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, herein.

The sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” is a pangram, which is a sentence that uses every letter of the alphabet.

"United Arab Emirates," a small country in the Middle East, is made up of alternating vowels and consonants. It is the longest name of a country whose letters do that.

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