prolixity · noun — long-windedness, tiresome length, an excess of words. It carries an Arena rating of 1652, earned across 43 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, prolixity ranks #1,350 of 17,151 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,958 of 17,201 for Funniest Words, #6,066 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #6,636 of 17,176 for Most Incisive Words.
prolixity is pronounced /pɹəˈlɪk.sɪ.ti/.
Why “prolixity” is a great word
PROLIXITY — [Noun] The quality or state of being tediously long-winded or using an excessive number of words. From Old French *prolixité*, from Late Latin *prolixitas*, from Latin *prolixus* (“extended, lengthy”). First attested in English in the late 14th century. Unlike “verbosity,” which suggests a general, careless flood of language, or “conciseness,” which is its stark antithesis, prolixity implies a drawn-out, oppressive dwelling on minutiae. It is the lecture that meticulously justifies its own structure, the legal document that buries a clause in a thicket of whereas-es, or the anecdote that describes every cobblestone on the path but never what lies behind the door—a formal shelter from the arrival of silence.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Old French prolixite, from Latin prolixitas. By surface analysis, prolix + -ity.
noun
- Long-windedness, tiresome length, an excess of words.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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