sesquipedality

English

Etymology

sesquipedal +‎ -ity

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˌsɛskwɪpɪˈdæləti/

Noun

sesquipedality (countable and uncountable, plural sesquipedalities)

  1. An instance or condition of being sesquipedalian.
    • 1760, Laurence Sterne, The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, Penguin, published 2003, page 93:
      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.
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