The longest word in English, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis”This term is a technical word used to describe a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine silica dust. It was coined in 1935 by the president of the National Puzzlers’ League, Everett Smith, with the intent of creating a long word. While it is indeed a legitimate word and recognized by dictionaries, it is rarely used in practical, everyday language. The shortest word in English is generally considered to be “a” which is a single-letter indefinite article. Another contender for the shortest English word is “I” which is a single-letter pronoun. Both “a” and “I” consist of just one letter, making them the shortest words in terms of letter count.