sesquipedalian

English

WOTD – 9 October 2006

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”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌsɛs.kwɪ.pɪˈdeɪ.lɪ.ən/

• Audio (RP)

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• Audio (GA)

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• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -eɪliən
• Hyphenation: ses‧qui‧pe‧da‧li‧an

Noun

sesquipedalian (plural sesquipedalians)

1. A long word.
   • 1830, On the Art of Rising in Prose The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal, part 2, v. 29, Henry Colburn and Co., page: 162:

     “The fine old fellow,” as a Northern contemporary of ours patronizingly calls him, certainly rolled out his sesquipedalians with a majesty previously unknown, and gave a fine organ-like swell to his full-blow periods;

   • 1927, John S. Farmer, William Ernest Henley, A Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English: Abridged from the Seven-volume Work, Entitled "Slang and Its Analogues", Taylor & Francis, page: 164:

     Fleet-streetese, the so-called English written to sell by the Fleet-streeter (q.v.), or baser sort of journalist: a mixture of sesquipedalians and slang, of phrases worn threadbare and phrases sprung from the kennel;

   • 1952, Hannah More, Syndics of the Cambridge University Press, page: 220:

     ‘Sometimes we converse in ballad-rhymes, sometimes in Johnsonian sesquipedalians; at tea we condescend to riddles and charades.’

2. A person who uses long words.
   • 2008, Richard Dawkins, The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing, Oxford University Press, page: 106:

     Word-watchers, verbivores, and sesquipedalians love a challenge.

   • 2009, Sally Adams, Wynford Hicks, Interviewing for Journalists, Taylor & Francis, page: 97:

     ‘What sort of writer is the English professor looking for?’ / ‘He wants a sesquipedalian, of course.’

   • 2012, Jonathan Herring, How to Argue: Powerfully, Persuasively, Positively, FT Press, chapter 8, page: ?:

     Don’t be a sesquipedalian! / Yes, you guessed right. A sesquipedalian is a person who enjoys long words.

Translations

a long word

• German: ellenlanges Wort n schwülstiger Begriff m (derogatory), Wortungetüm (de) n
• Hungarian: szókígyó, szószörnyeteg

person who uses long words

• German: Mensch der ellenlangen Worte m, Mensch mit Vorliebe für ellenlange Wörter m schwülstig daherredender Mensch m (derogatory)

Adjective

sesquipedalian (comparative more sesquipedalian, superlative most sesquipedalian)

1. (of a word or words) Long; polysyllabic.

   The most common use of "antidisestablishmentarianism" is as an example of a sesquipedalian word.

   • 1861, Anthony Trollope, Framley Parsonage:

     He would use the simplest, plainest language, he said to himself over and over again; but it is not always easy to use simple, plain language,—by no means so easy as to mount on stilts, and to march along with sesquipedalian words, with pathos, spasms, and notes of interjection.

   • 1988 March, “What Dictionary (General or Specialized) Do You Find Useful or Interesting for Students?”, in The English Journal, page 68:

     Happy word hunting! You might bag a sesquipedalian trophy! (Look it up in the dictionary).

2. Pertaining to or given to the use of overly long words.

   Our dinner guest was so sesquipedalian that no one could understand what he said.

   • 2014 October 30, Ben Brantley, “When the head leads the heart: 'The Real Thing,' With Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal, opens on Broadway [print version: When the witty head is far ahead of the heart: Maggie Gyllenhaal and Ewan McGregor star in revival of 'Real Thing', International New York Times, 4 November 2014, p. 9]”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     [I]ts main character, Henry (Mr. [Ewan] McGregor), is a successful, intellectual dramatist who seems quite capable of churning out fizzy, challenging works about brilliant but ambivalent revolutionaries, philosophers, etc. […] But this cleverer-than-thou creature gets his comeuppance in "The Real Thing," showing that a very human heart – just like those possessed by the less sesquipedalian – beats beneath his fancy words.

Synonyms

• (of long words): polysyllabic
• (given to the use of long words): See Thesaurus:verbose

Antonyms

• (of long words): monosyllabic, brachysyllabic
• (given to the use of long words): See Thesaurus:concise

Derived terms

• sesquipedalianism – literary style characterised by the use of long words.
• sesquipedalianist – a writer using sesquipedalianism.
• sesquipedalophobia – fear of long words.

Related terms

• hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
• sesquipedal
• sesquipedality

English terms prefixed with sesqui-

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ped-‎ (0 c, 56 e)

Translations

of long words

• Bulgarian: многосричен (mnogosričen)
• German: vielsilbig, schwülstig (de), ellenlang (de), der ellenlangen Wörter
• Greek: μακαρονοειδής (makaronoeidís)
• Icelandic: margkvæður m, (of many syllables) margra atkvæða (is)
• Italian: sesquipedale (it)

given to the use of long words

• German: zu ellenlangen Worten neigend, sich umständlich ausdrückend, schwülstig daherredend (derogatory)
• Icelandic: gefinn fyrir long orð m
• Italian: sesquipedale (it)

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “sesquipedalian”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.