Etymology

Said by Weekley to be first recorded in Gladstone's "Church and State", in reference to a scheme directed against the Church of England. From establishment in the sense of the ecclesiastical system established by law; the Church of England.

• establish

  to set up, put in place, or institute (originally from the Latin stāre, to stand)

• dis- + establish

  ending the established status of a body, in particular a church, given such status by law, such as the Church of England

• disestablish + -ment

  the separation of church and state (specifically in this context it is the political movement of the 1860s in Britain)

• anti- + disestablishment

  opposition to disestablishment

• antidisestablishment + -arian

  an advocate of opposition to disestablishment (alternatively, but less likely and quite similar in meaning, "opposed to disestablishmentarians", depending on what "anti-" is taken to belong to)

• antidisestablishmentarian + -ism

  the movement or ideology of advocates of opposition to disestablishment; the movement or ideology that opposes disestablishment (simply not wanting a separation of church and state)

Noun

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

Related terms

• antidisestablishmentarian
• disestablishmentarianism
• establish
• established church
• establishment

Usage notes

Atypically long, this word is sometimes employed to imply that the user has an above average intellect. ("Some techy words -- 'global thermonuclear war,' 'quadratic equation' and 'antidisestablishmentarianism' -- just sound smart." — New York Times, December 30, 2004.)

See also

• floccinaucinihilipilification
• hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
• pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
• supercalifragilisticexpialidocious