polysyllabicism

English

Etymology

polysyllabic +‎ -ism

Noun

polysyllabicism (usually uncountable, plural polysyllabicisms)

(of linguistic expression) The state or characteristic of having a polysyllabic or overly complex style.
- 1807, W. Taylor, Annual Review, p. 274:
  It will only facilitate the acquirement of a sesquipedalian diction, having the polysyllabicism without the precision of Johnson.
- 1973, C. G. Dobbs, "Book Review of Soil Micro-Organisms by T. R. G. Gray and S. T. Williams (1971)," The Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 10, no. 2, p. 665:
  If polysyllabicism is considered more 'scientific,' should we not seize the opportunity to call the study of micro-organisms 'mico-organicology'?
- 2005 Feb. 15, Susan Elkin, In praise of polysyllabicism, Telegraph.co.uk, Telegraph Media Group:
  Vocabulary is the meat, blood and bones of language.

Related terms

References

“polysyllabicism” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.

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