Dictionary

sesquipedality en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌsɛskwɪpɪˈdæləti/

Etymology

Etymology tree English sesquipedal Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Latin -itāsder. Old French -itebor. Middle English -ite English -ity English sesquipedality From sesquipedal + -ity.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) An instance or condition of being sesquipedalian.
   • Imagine to yourſelf a little, ſquat, uncourtly figure of a Doctor Slop, of about four feet and a half perpendicular height, with a breadth of back, and a ſeſquipedality of belly, which might have done honour to a ſerjeant in the horſe-guards. 1759, [Laurence Sterne], chapter IX, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, 2nd (1st London) edition, volume II, London: […] R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], published 1760, →OCLC, pages 58–59:

Forms