You ask:
"What is the maximum number of times SHORT WORD can be printed?"
If all items of wordList have length < 4, then all items will be printed.
So, how many itens does wordList have? Simple: wordList.size().
ArrayList's size() method semantic:
In a ArrayList with a total of 3 itens, such as:
ArrayList wordList = new ArrayList<String>();
wordList.add("firstWord");
wordList.add("2ndWrd");
wordList.add("3w");
The size() is the number of items (like array.length). So, in this case, 3.
But ArrayList's index, as a regular array, is 0-based (going from 0 to size()-1). So:
wordList.get(0); // returns "firstWord"
wordList.get(1); // returns "2ndWrd"
wordList.get(2); // returns "3w"
wordList.get(3); // throws an exception (IndexOutOfBoundsException)
Thus your confusion.