What's your favourite English word?

BrEnDaN   Friday, March 05, 2004, 00:43 GMT
mine is chese...
Gabrielle Delacour   Friday, March 05, 2004, 01:46 GMT
Le mien est 'nutter'.
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious   Sunday, March 14, 2004, 01:24 GMT
Why isn't ''supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'' a real word then? Is ''ghoti'' a fake word too?
Chilli   Sunday, March 14, 2004, 17:34 GMT
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, please explain to me the definition of what makes a word 'real'. I'm curious.
Jenny   Sunday, March 14, 2004, 18:28 GMT
I would say that a real word is one that is in the dictionary.
Chilli   Monday, March 15, 2004, 04:00 GMT
At the risk of opening a can of worms, dictionaries are really only supposed to record words that have come into main-stream use. Just because a word doesn't appear in the dictionary shouldn't make it any less real.
to Chilli   Monday, March 15, 2004, 04:45 GMT
"Just because a word doesn't appear in the dictionary shouldn't make it any less real. '

You're correct. But "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" is a nonsense word made up by a Disney character (Mary Poppins) that has no real meaning. In order for a word to be a "real" word, a sizeable population of people would have to agree on its usage and define it accordingly. What is the definition of "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"? Do people use this word in the same context outside of alluding to the song in Mary Poppins? My guess is there is no agreed upon meaning of the word and nobody actually uses it in a sentence. Thus, it is not a real word.
to Chilli   Monday, March 15, 2004, 04:50 GMT
"But "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" is a nonsense word made up by a Disney character (Mary Poppins) that has no real meaning. "

I should restate that and say, "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" is a nonsense word made up by the songwriters of "Mary Poppins."

The word didn't exist before then, nor has it been popularly used outside of a "Mary Poppins" context afterwards.
Adam   Monday, March 15, 2004, 09:21 GMT
I can't see the word "refrigerator" in "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."
arena   Monday, March 15, 2004, 09:29 GMT
mine is "arena" it's sounds nice
Chilli   Monday, March 15, 2004, 10:14 GMT
I wish I knew who I was talking to, but anyway, at the risk (another risk, how daring I am today) of pursuing a pointless subject, please find as follows below:
"Sadly, the exact origin of the word "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" may never be pinned down, so this will be, for the time being at least, an incomplete report. But we do know this--it considerably predates the 1964 Disney movie Mary Poppins in which it was prominently featured."

SDSTAFF Euty, "Straight Dope Staff Report: Is "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" a real word referring to Irish hookers?" [online]. http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msupercali.html [Accessed th March 2004]

Anyway, a sizeable amount of the population do know of its existence, even if they have attributed no significant meaning to it, and they have also a rough-to-fair knowledge of its history (at least in part). It's not like a word which I might just make up myself and then ask "So, ever heard of this? Blinketyblop. It's my new word."

Is the word used outside of alluding to Mary Poppins songs? Probably not, but that doesn't make it any less real. That just makes it more like jargon. Can it be used in a sentence? Yes. Perhaps not as a regular verb or adjective or preposition, etc, but that doesn't make it less real.

As to its existence predating Disney, I realise that offering one link on the internet is fairly inadequate but it's a start.
Anna   Monday, March 15, 2004, 17:00 GMT
I like the word MUPHIN....(my own spelling)....i say it to people when they have a misfortune i.e. AWWH MUPHIN
Mariya   Monday, March 15, 2004, 17:03 GMT
I like the word "hun" (my own spelling) I sounds nice when adressing guys or girls...its kind of a unisex word...are there such things as unisex words ? lol
Rachel   Monday, March 15, 2004, 17:08 GMT
bliss
Samurai Jack   Monday, March 15, 2004, 20:00 GMT
I like supercalibootyliciousexpialidocious ! that's a word !