What is "antidisestablishmentarianism"

antidisestablishmentarianism \an`ti*dis`es*tab`lish*men*ta"ri*an*ism\

([a^]n*t[-e]*d[i^]s`[e^]s*t[a^]b`l[i^]sh*men*t[^a]r"[-e]*[a^]n*[i^]z'm), n. the doctrine or political position that opposes the withdrawal of state recognition of an established church; -- used especially concerning the Anglican Church in England. Opposed to disestablishmentarianism.

"opposition to disestablishment of the Church of England," 1838, said by Weekley to be first recorded in Gladstone's "Church and State," from dis- + establishment in the sense of "the ecclesiastical system established by law; the Church of England" (1731). Hence establishmentarianism "the principle of a state church" (1846) and disestablish (1590s) "to deprive (a church) of especial state patronage and support" (first used specifically of Christian churches in 1806), which are married in this word. Rarely used at all now except in examples of the longest words, amongst which it has been counted at least since 1901.

n. A political philosophy opposed to the separation of a religious group ("church") and a government ("state"), especially the belief held by those in 19th century England opposed to separating the Anglican church from the civil government or to refer to separation of church and state. (from 20th c.)

Antidisestablishmentarianism is a political position that developed in 19th-century Britain in opposition to Liberal proposals for the disestablishment of the Church of England—meaning the removal of the Anglican Church's status as the state church of England, Ireland, and Wales. The establishment was maintained in England, but in Ireland the Church of Ireland (Anglican) was disestablished in 1871. In Wales, four Church of England dioceses were disestablished in 1920 and became the Church in Wales.

Antidisestablishmentarianism is also one of the longest non-scientific words. The word has also come by analogy to refer to any opposition to those who oppose the establishment, whether the government, in whole or part, or the established society.

The English word antidisestablishmentarianism is notable for its unusual length of 28 letters and 12 syllables, and is one of the longest words in the English language. It has been cited as the longest word in the English language, excluding coined and technical terms. The longest word found in a major dictionary is " pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis", but this is a technical term that was coined specifically to be the longest word.

The word became known in the public realm in the United States via a popular television show in the 1950s, The $64,000 Question, when a young contestant correctly spelled it to win. A slightly longer, but less commonly accepted, variant of the word can be found in the Duke Ellington song "You're Just an Old Antidisestablishmentarianismist;" although, the correct construction of the word used in the song should be "antidisestablishmentarianist" (without the "ism"), or "antidisestablishmentarian." The word is also used by Eminem in his song "Almost Famous".