Duden dictionary picks longest German word

BERLIN, November 1. /TASS/. The Duden dictionary of the German language picked the longest words in the language, giving the top spot to a 67-letter word.
The word is Grundstucksverkehrsgenehmigungszustandigkeitsubertragungsverordnung, according to a statement on the Duden website.
It can be translated into English as “the rule on the transfer of jurisdiction in authorizing a land plot transaction.” It is 23 letters longer than the longest word in the spelling dictionary.
The second and third places are shared by two words with 58 letters each. These are the Welsh toponym Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch and the word Strasenentwasserungsinvestitionskostenschuldendienstumlage, which means “Debt service charges for investments in road drainage.”
Next comes the 56-letter word Kurzfristenergieversorgungssicherungsmasnahmenverordnung. It can be translated into English as “a rule on short-term energy supply security measures”.
The longest words in the Duden dictionary come mainly from legal or bureaucratic verbiage and are compound words. The ranking only lists words that have been used in the last 10 years and were published in news media at least five times.
Duden is one of the most authoritative dictionaries of the German language. German has a remarkable ability to combine various words into new, longer words thanks to its grammar rules.