As I have search this word (supercalifragilisticexpialidocious), this is the longest word. Which happen to have various meanings related to "amazing".
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2It comes from a song (of the same name) in the Disney film Mary Poppins. It is just a nonce word that doesn't mean anything. I expect, though, that quite a few old-timers on this site can sing it.– MickCommented Oct 28, 2016 at 10:06
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2Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious When is it best used? When it comes to this particular word you must use it carefully, this is a nonsense word and should only be used around a select group of people. It is suggested that you only use this word around your friends and family. Do not under any circumstances use this word around teachers, or during a job interview. This is a fun word and should not be used during serious conversation. ccmmsdte.blogspot.it/2011/01/…– user5267Commented Oct 28, 2016 at 10:09
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This actually confuses me, since most of my batch mates back in high school were fund of using it.– firecatcherCommented Oct 28, 2016 at 10:26
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As per my previous comment it is ok to use the term in informal and familiar/friendly contexts, but you are not supposed to use it in more formal contexts. What is still unclear about it?– user5267Commented Oct 28, 2016 at 11:04
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1@AbsoluteBeginner Much to the dismay of lexicographers everywhere, no doubt!– MickCommented Oct 28, 2016 at 11:39
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2 Answers
You don't need permission to use a word. But you should be aware of how it will be received.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is a word created to be exceptionally long. It's not known who coined it, but they had knowledge of Latin and Greek (Super- is latin = "above", -cali- is Greek = beautiful etc.)
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious existed before Mary Poppins. It is not part of the book. The writers remembered it from their childhood and decided to use it in the film. In the film Mary Poppins uses it as an example of a very long and very impressive word to use, when you can't think of anything else to say, as everyone will think you are very clever for using such long words
When Dukes and Maharajas spend the time of day with me. I use me special word and then they ask me out for tea!
One day I said to me girl, And now me girl's me wife!
(These use the non standard me instead of my, they are supposed to be in London, Cockney dialect)
Now, of course it won't impress anyone. It is best thought of as a joke word. If you are speaking seriously then avoid it.
You can read the wikipedia article and a video clip of the song writers (About 3:40)
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" means "tends to break like chalk, only more quickly and easily".
But most people don't know that is what it means, so the word is only useful when joking about the longest words in the English language.
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As an exercise, you might want to break down "supercalifragilistic" and "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" into their word roots, look up the word roots in a dictionary, and figure out how they combine into the full words' meanings.– JasperCommented Oct 28, 2016 at 22:47