floccinaucinihilipilification

Definition

The act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant, of having no value or being worthless.

Etymology

From Latin floccus (“a wisp”) + naucum (“a trifle”) + nihilum (“nothing”) + pilus (“a hair”) + -fication. A jocular coinage, apparently by pupils at Eton College, combining a number of Latin word stems. The word was inspired by a line present in various editions of William Lily's (c. 1468–1522) Latin grammars published around the 17th–19th centuries (including the Eton Latin Grammar), in which some nouns commonly used in the genitive case with some verbs like pendo and facio are listed, which express evaluating something as worthless or as previously mentioned; see the reference.

Example Sentences

• "I loved him for nothing so much as his flocci-nauci-nihili-pili-fication of money."
• "There is a systematic flocci-nauci-nihili-pilification of all other aspects of existence that angers me."
• "Let me toss an oxymoronic morsel onto the stage of discussion right at this point—to use one of Jackie Gleason’s phrases, “how sweet it is” that, at last, we seem at last to be getting away from the splendiferous floccinaucinihilipilifications, in which we have engaged during these last several days."

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