Where does “sesquipedalian” come from?
sesquipedalian (English) comes from English sesquipedal, from Latin sesquipedalis, from Latin pedalis, from Latin pēs, from Ancient Greek μέτρον, from Ancient Greek -τρον, from Proto-Hellenic -tron, from Proto-Indo-European -trom — Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
sesquipedalian (English): A long word; A person who uses long words; Long;...
Definitions
- A long word; A person who uses long words; Long;...
Ancestry of “sesquipedalian”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sesquipedal | Measuring or containing a foot and a half |
| 2 | Latin | sesquipedalis | A foot and a half, half a yard; A foot and a half... |
| 3 | Latin | pedalis | foot; measuring one foot long |
| 4 | Latin | pēs | a foot, in its senses as |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μέτρον | something used to measure: measure, rule, weight;... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -τρον | Forms instrument nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | -tron | Forms instrument nouns from verb stems |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |