Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon facts for kids
Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon is a very long, made-up word from Ancient Greece. It's the name of a fictional dish mentioned in a funny play called Assemblywomen by Aristophanes, written in 391 B.C.
This word is a transliteration (which means writing a word from one alphabet into another) of the Ancient Greek word λοπαδοτεμαχοσελαχογαλεοκρανιολειψανοδριμυποτριμματοσιλφιοκαραβομελιτοκατακεχυμενοκιχλεπικοσσυφοφαττοπεριστεραλεκτρυονοπτοκεφαλλιοκιγκλοπελειολαγῳοσιραιοβαφητραγανοπτερύγων. People have described it as a "name of a dish made from all sorts of delicious things, like fish, meat, birds, and sauces."
It is the longest Greek word ever, with 171 letters and 78 syllables. When written in Latin letters (transliterated), it has 183 characters. The Guinness World Records (1990) even listed it as the longest word ever to appear in literature!
What Was This Dish?
This special dish was a fricassée. A fricassée is a type of stew where meat (or other ingredients) is cut into pieces, cooked, and served in a thick sauce. This ancient Greek dish had at least 16 different ingredients, mixing both sweet and sour flavors.
Here are some of the ingredients that were likely in it:
- Slices of fish
- Fish from the elasmobranchii group, like a shark or a ray
- The head of a dogfish or a small shark (which might have been fermented or "rotted" for flavor)
- A strong-tasting mix of several ingredients, all grated and pounded together
- Silphion, which was probably a type of giant fennel. This plant is now believed to be extinct.
- A type of crab, shrimp, or crayfish
- Honey poured over everything
- Wrasse (a type of fish) or a thrush (a bird)
- A kind of sea fish or a blackbird used as a topping
- Wood pigeon
- Domestic pigeon
- Rooster
- The roasted head of a dabchick (a small water bird)
- Hare, which could mean a type of bird or a sea hare (a type of sea slug)
- New wine that was boiled down to make it thicker and sweeter
- Wing and/or fin (from the birds and fish)
Where Does This Word Appear?
This super long word is used at the very end of the play Assemblywomen. In the play, a character named Blepyrus and the audience are invited to a huge feast. This feast is part of a new system of government that has just been set up.
Here's a part of the play where the word is used:
[1167] And you others, let your light steps too keep time.
[1168] Very soon we'll be eating
[1170] lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephaliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon. [sic]
[1175] Come, quickly, seize hold of a plate, snatch up a cup, and let's run to secure a place at table. The rest will have their jaws at work by this time.
It's clear that this word was meant to be funny and impressive, showing off a dish with many, many ingredients!
How Is It Translated?
Translating such a long and complex word into English can be tricky! Different translators have tried to capture its meaning and humor.
For example, Leo Strauss (1966) translated it in prose (like a regular sentence) as: "oysters-saltfish-skate-sharks'-heads-left-over-vinegar-dressing-laserpitium-leek-with-honey-sauce-thrush-blackbird-pigeon-dove-roast-cock's-brains-wagtail-cushat-hare-stewed-in-new-wine-gristle-of-veal-pullet's-wings".
Another translator, Benjamin Bickley Rogers (1902), tried to keep the original rhythm and style in his verse (poem-like) translation:
Plattero-filleto-mulleto-turboto-
-Cranio-morselo-pickleo-acido-
-Silphio-honeyo-pouredonthe-topothe-
-Ouzelo-throstleo-cushato-culvero-
-Cutleto-roastingo-marowo-dippero-
-Leveret-syrupu-gibleto-wings.
An even older translation by Rev. Rowland Smith (1833) broke the long word into several lines of poetry to make it easier to read:
Limpets, oysters, salt fish,
And a skate too a dish,
Lampreys, with the remains
Of sharp sauce and birds' brains,
With honey so luscious,
Plump blackbirds and thrushes,
Cocks' combs and ring doves,
Which each epicure loves,
Also wood-pigeons blue,
With juicy snipes too,
And to close all, O rare!
The wings of jugged hare!
No matter how it's translated, the word always means a huge, fancy, and very mixed-up dish!
See also
In Spanish: 