Matryoshka words



Since it's Friday and others are playing games, here's another one to take us into the weekend.


Everyone knows about those Russian nesting dolls (called matryoshka dolls, I believe). A small doll nests inside a larger, which itself is inside a larger doll, and so on.


This game does the same with words. You start with a three-letter word, add a letter to make another word, and so on. Longest word wins. The catch? Each additional letter has to form a legitimate word.


Here's one to start you off:



bur
burr
burro
burrow
burrows



Good luck.



Answer



If you're willing to accept the surname "Barrett", the longest I can find (with a program) is 10 letters, "barretters":



bar
barr: to cry as an elephant, abbreviation of "barrister"
barre: (ballet) A handrail fixed to a wall used for ballet exercises.
barret: A kind of military cap
Barrett: A surname (recall Elizabeth Barrett Browning)
barrette: A clasp or clip for gathering and holding the hair.
barretter: A ballast resistor
barretters: plural form of barretter



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