Talk:sesquipedalian

This needs to be recorded somewhere -- this word was used in an episode of Goof Troop. Zweifel 07:16, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

antidisestablishmentarianism
Should link antidisestablishmentarianism.


 * antidisestablishmentarianism
 * anti-
 * dis-
 * establish
 * -ment
 * -arian
 * -ism
 * estable
 * stable
 * -able
 * stab
 * tab
 * auntie
 * ante
 * delish

Thank You,

hopiakuta 16:59, 29 February 2008 (UTC)


 * wikipedia:buckley_%28surname%29
 * wikipedia:buckley_%28disambiguation%29


 * wikipedia:William_F._Buckley_%28disambiguation%29
 * wikipedia:William_Frank_Buckley

hopiakuta 23:00, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

I question the etymology. Is this not derived from the same root as "pedant" (teacher/scholar) rather than "pedis" (foot)? That "foot-and-a-half" sounds like reverse etymology to me. A pedant-and-a-half seems more likely.

Pwmeek 13:39, 20 November 2010 (UTC)


 * I agree- the 'ped' surely comes from the pedant/pedagogue root and sesqui as 3/2 or one-and-a-half. When I first encountered the term I took it to be a literal translation of 'too clever by half' 2A00:23C7:4228:A801:55A5:B642:F2B9:2C7B 15:59, 1 May 2024 (UTC)

According to Chambers, it's "after sesquipedalia verba, words a foot and a half long, coined in Horace's Ars Poetica. Equinox ◑ 23:11, 22 November 2010 (UTC)

Further to my edit of 7/14 removing "noun"
There seems to be consensus that the origin of sesquipedalian is the early 17th century, from the Latin sēsquipedālis. With the addition of the suffix "an" we have the word; "an" being used to form adjectives in English (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/-an). I have never seen the word used as a noun, and I suggest to you it, as such, would be grammatically incorrect. A noun form would be something akin to "sesquipedalianist".
 * Problem is that's not how we do things here; we're having the exact same debate over paprika where a user speedily deleted a definition. Please don't. Please do use and click the small + sign to list the entry. Also there are nouns ending in -an; take  for example. Mglovesfun (talk) 18:40, 14 July 2012 (UTC)
 * suggests there is at least one noun definition. I haven't looked at all the hits (estimated at 575 by Google Books). Mglovesfun (talk) 20:12, 14 July 2012 (UTC)

OP here: to the "an" being a noun; that's used for geographic distinctions (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/-an). I maintain that the noun form is used incorrectly, and would suggest following Merrian-Webster and Oxford by only listing the word as an adjective.--71.43.51.194 04:12, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

RFV discussion: July–September 2012
Rfv-sense

There seems to be consensus that the origin of sesquipedalian is the early 17th century, from the Latin sēsquipedālis. With the addition of the suffix "an" we have the word; "an" being used to form adjectives in English (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/-an). I have never seen the word used as a noun, and I suggest to you it, as such, would be grammatically incorrect. A noun form would be something akin to "sesquipedalianist". Both Merriam-Webster and Oxford only list the word as an adjective.
 * Cited both noun senses. Take a look at them, if you think they aren’t valid you can nominate the entry for deletion. — Ungoliant (Falai) 05:14, 15 July 2012 (UTC)
 * All the cites are valid, SFAICT. --Μετάknowledge discuss/deeds 19:33, 20 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Passed. - -sche (discuss) 07:40, 25 September 2012 (UTC)