sesquipedalian

American  

[ses-kwi-pi-dey-lee-uhn, -deyl-yuhn] / ˌsɛs kwɪ pɪˈdeɪ li ən, -ˈdeɪl yən /

adjective

1. given to using long words.

2. (of a word) containing many syllables.

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noun

1. a sesquipedalian word.

sesquipedalian British  

/ sɛsˈkwɪpədəl, ˌsɛskwɪpɪˈdeɪlɪən /

adjective

1. tending to use very long words

2. (of words or expressions) long and ponderous; polysyllabic

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noun

1. a polysyllabic word

Other Word Forms

• sesquipedalianism noun
• sesquipedalism noun
• sesquipedality noun
• unsesquipedalian adjective

Etymology

Origin of sesquipedalian

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin sesquipedālis “measuring a foot and a half ”( see sesqui-, pedal) + -ian

Explanation

Use the adjective sesquipedalian to describe a word that's very long and multisyllabic. For example the word sesquipedalian is in fact sesquipedalian. Sesquipedalian can also be used to describe someone or something that overuses big words, like a philosophy professor or a chemistry textbook. If someone gives a sesquipedalian speech, people often assume it was smart, even if they don’t really know what it was about because they can’t understand the words. Each of those long words is referred to as a sesquipedalia. Antidisestablishmentarianism is a sesquipedalia: in fact it’s the longest non-coined and nontechnical word in the English language.

Example Sentences

By the way, this is sometimes known in more general circles as sesquipedalian loquaciousness.

From US News • May 26, 2016

The film looks longingly toward a time when sesquipedalian patricians such as Buckley and Vidal could even be considered for a network’s mainstream, prime-time broadcast.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 17, 2015

This capacity to draw inspiration from different genres was fundamental in the development of his career and unlike the sesquipedalian Lezama Lima, author of the masterpiece Paradiso, Piñera combined Cuban vernacular with more refined language.

From The Guardian • Aug. 3, 2012

Oh, and that whole “and lo” bit was lifted from the novel’s Madame Psychosis, whose sesquipedalian word vomit on the radio for some reason holds half the Boston metro area in a rapturous trance.

From Slate • Jun. 18, 2012

Wilbur performed his silly antics; Templeton raced around to gather sesquipedalian words; the geese clucked around and were generally a nuisance.

From "George" by Alex Gino