sesquipedalian
/ˌsɛs.kwɪ.pɪˈdeɪ.lɪ.ən/
sesquipedalian means long; polysyllabic. It carries an Arena rating of 1854, earned across 14 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, sesquipedalian ranks #187 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #803 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #911 of 42,747 for Qualifying, #1,466 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
sesquipedalian is pronounced /ˌsɛs.kwɪ.pɪˈdeɪ.lɪ.ən/.
Why “sesquipedalian” is a great word
Sesquipedalian describes the use of long, polysyllabic words, or is such a word itself. From Latin sēsquipedālis, literally 'a foot and a half long,' from sēsqui- ('one and a half times') + pedālis ('measuring a foot,' from pēs, 'foot') + the English suffix -ian; the sense of 'long word' is attested from 1830, alluding to Horace's phrase sesquipedalia verba. Unlike 'concise,' which prizes the elegance of brevity, or 'monosyllabic,' which champions direct, unadorned utterance, sesquipedalian is a celebration of deliberate, baroque excess. It is the ponderous weight of 'antidisestablishmentarianism' in a child's spelling bee, the physician's diagnosis of 'pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism,' or the velvet circumlocution of a lawyer—language stretched to its full span, where the sound of erudition often drowns out the sense.
Etymology
From sesquipedal + -ian (adjective- and noun-forming suffix), root from Latin sēsquipedālis (literally “a foot and a half long”), from Latin sēsqui (“one and a half times”) + Latin pedālis (“measuring a foot, foot (relational)”) (an adjective from pēs (“foot”)).
adj
- Long; polysyllabic.e.g.“The most common use of "antidisestablishmentarianism" is as an example of a sesquipedalian word.”
- Pertaining to or given to the use of overly long words.e.g.“Our dinner guest was so sesquipedalian that no one could understand what he said.”
noun
- A long word.
- A person who uses long words.e.g.“Word-watchers, verbivores, and sesquipedalians love a challenge.” — 2008, Richard Dawkins, The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing, Oxford University Press, page: 106:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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