sesquipedalian (English)
Where does "sesquipedalian" come from?
The word sesquipedalian originates from the Latin 'sēsquipedālis,' a descriptive term meaning 'a foot and a half long.' It combines 'sēsqui,' meaning one and a half times, with 'pedālis,' rooted in the Proto-Indo-European word for foot. Over time, it traveled into English as a witty way to describe excessively long words, ironically mirroring the very length it characterizes.
Full etymology tree
- sesquipedalian (English), 'A long word.'
- suffix sesquipedal (English), 'Measuring or containing a foot and a half.'
- borrowed sēsquipedālis (Latin), 'A foot and a half, half a yard'
- compound sēsqui- (Latin), '1½; 1½ times'
- derived sēmis (Latin), 'a half, a half-unit'
- compound pedālis (Latin), 'foot'
- derived pēs (Latin), 'a foot, in its senses as'
- inherited *pets (Proto-Italic), 'foot'
- inherited *pṓds (Proto-Indo-European), 'foot'
- inherited *pets (Proto-Italic), 'foot'
- derived pēs (Latin), 'a foot, in its senses as'
- compound sēsqui- (Latin), '1½; 1½ times'
- borrowed sēsquipedālis (Latin), 'A foot and a half, half a yard'
- suffix -ian (English), 'From, related to, or like.'
- inherited -iānus (Latin), 'Enlarged form of -ānus, especially frequent in adjectives formed from proper names.'
- suffix sesquipedal (English), 'Measuring or containing a foot and a half.'
Direct ancestors
- ped- (Proto-Indo-European)
- sesquipedal (English)
- -ian (English)
- sesquipedalis (Latin)
- sesqui (Latin)
- pedalis (Latin)
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris