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Name a common word with five consecutive vowels?

Question #101183. Asked by suffolkboy.
Last updated Jan 03 2017.

Related Trivia Topics: Vocabulary  
felinefanatic
Answer has 4 votes
felinefanatic

Answer has 4 votes.
Queueing

Nov 21 2008, 12:59 PM
jonnygroat
Answer has 4 votes
jonnygroat

Answer has 4 votes.
miaoued

Nov 21 2008, 2:30 PM
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zbeckabee star
Answer has 4 votes
zbeckabee star
Moderator
19 year member
11752 replies avatar

Answer has 4 votes.
Dear Cecil:

My pursuit of higher education has required me to study queueing theory. I have been told that "queueing" is the only word in English that has five consecutive vowels. Can you verify this? I would have asked Bill Safire, but I am not always able to get the New York Times. I rarely miss the Straight Dope.

— Doug S., Dallas

Dear Doug:

I like the cut of your jib, lad. However, your spelling sucks. According to my trusty American Heritage Dictionary (how can you not like a dictionary that illustrates "decolletage" with a picture of Marilyn Monroe?), the participle of "queue" is "queuing"--four vowels. But fear not. An alternate spelling of the verb "meeow" is "miaou"; thus we can have cats "miaouing"--count 'em, five vowels.

link http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/745/what-english-word-has-five-consecutive-vowels

Nov 21 2008, 3:23 PM
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Anton star
Answer has 4 votes
Anton star avatar

Answer has 4 votes.

Response last updated by nautilator on Jan 03 2017.
Mar 21 2013, 3:29 PM
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nautilator star
Answer has 6 votes
Currently Best Answer
nautilator star
Moderator
13 year member
467 replies avatar

Answer has 6 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
There are a few:
The English dictionary word with the most consecutive vowels (six) is EUOUAE. Words with five consecutive vowels include QUEUEING, AIEEE, COOEEING, MIAOUED, ZAOUIA, JUSSIEUEAN, ZOOEAE, ZOAEAE. The Hawaiian word HOOIAIOIA (meaning certified) has eight consecutive vowels and is listed in the 1976 Guinness Book of World Records. Allowing proper nouns, URU-EU-UAU-UAU (a language of Brazil) has nine vowels in a row, ignoring hyphens.

Jan 03 2017, 12:02 AM
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