Russian
Theoretically, there can be words with unlimited length, for example: прапрапра...дедушка (praprapra...dedushka, great great great...grandfather). Probably one of the longest originally-Russian word is превысокомногорассмотрительствующий (prevysokomnogorassmotritelstvuyushchy) which contains 35 letters, or its dative case form превысокомногорассмотрительствующему (prevysokomnogorassmotritelstvuyushchemu, with 36 letters), which can be an example of excessively official vocabulary of 19th century. The longest numeral compounds, such as Тысячевосьмисотвосьмидесятидевятимикрометровый (Tysyachevosmisotvosmidesyatimikrometrovy), which is an adjective containing 46 letters, meaning "1889-micrometer".
Read more about this topic: Longest Words
Famous quotes containing the word russian:
“To be born in a new country one has to die in the motherland.”
—Irina Mogilevskaya, Russian student. “Immigrating to the U.S.,” student paper in an English as a Second Language class, Hunter College, 1995.
“A criminal trial is like a Russian novel: it starts with exasperating slowness as the characters are introduced to a jury, then there are complications in the form of minor witnesses, the protagonist finally appears and contradictions arise to produce drama, and finally as both jury and spectators grow weary and confused the pace quickens, reaching its climax in passionate final argument.”
—Clifford Irving (b. 1930)
“In certain respects, particularly economically, National- Socialism is nothing but bolshevism. These two are hostile brothers of whom the younger has learned everything from the older, the Russian excepting only morality.”
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)